The Canary's Song
by KawaiiAnimeLuverGirl
Summary: Yumi Ichihara is Yuuko's adopted daughter. Yumi's main goal is to thwart Fei Wong Reeds plan. She does not plan on falling in love, but Hitsuzen will be the judge of that. FaixOC. New Chapter UP!
1. Prologue

**Misty: YAY! Second fanfic! I'm so happy I finally got this story started. I am just so lazy.**

**Sakura: Misty-chan, can I do the disclaimers?**

**Misty: Of course Sakura-chan! **

**Sakura: Misty does not own any part of Tsubasa Chronicles. Neither the characters nor the manga. She only owns Yumi-chan.**

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**The Canary's Song (Prologue)**

_"Huff. Huff." A blonde girl around the age of 5 began running as fast as she could. She didn't know why she was running or whom she was running from. All she knew was that she needed to get away…_

The same blonde girl snapped her eyes open. She rubbed her eyes and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

"Yume no?" (A dream?) she muttered. _Was that girl me?_ she shook her head, disagreeing with her thoughts. The 16 year-old girl got up out of bed and dressed herself.

"Yumi-san?" Two little girls opened her bedroom door. Yumi Ichihara turned and saw Moru and Maru, two girls that Yuuko created and lived with.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, still a bit sleepy.

"The Mistress wanted to know if you were preparing." Maru and Moru asked simultaneously.

Yumi went and fetched her tan cloak from her closet. Then she went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of black gloves and a purple-stone necklace. Putting everything on, she turned her attention back to the girls "Yes. Tell her I'll be there in a second."

"O~kay!" they smiled and ran out. Even with them gone, you could still hear them calling 'Mistress!' Yumi didn't smile back. She never did and her reason for it involves her past. She didn't ever show any kind of emotion on her face either.

The girl walked down-stairs and looked out the window. Rain drops pelted on the window pane and slid down. She paid no attention and buttoned her one button cloak.

"Yumi-chan." A woman's voice flooded into the room.

"Yuuko?" the blonde saw a woman, clad in black walk up to her.

"As you know, your journey is about to begin." Yuuko began. Yumi nodded, showing she understood. "You have been training your whole life for this. You and I both know that Fei Wang's plan has to be stopped. Your magic and fighting skills have improved a lot."

"Thank you."

Yuuko smiled, "'They' will be coming soon. I hope the information I gave you on them will help. And also…" Yuuko's long fingers wrapped around the necklace that Yumi was wearing. "You want to learn more about your birth mother, correct?"

"I do. I don't remember anything about her." She explained.

"She did leave you this." Yuuko said referring to her necklace. Yumi covered it and nodded again. Both Ichihara's walked outside in the pouring rain. Because of their magic, neither of them got wet. Yumi pulled on her hood, enough that it covered her eyes and reached her nose.

"Here they come…"

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**Misty: Just a prologue. This tells you about my character and a little hint about her past. See you guys in the next chapter! **


	2. First Encounters

**Misty: Told ya, I'd see you later. **

**Mokona: Misty-chi doesn't own Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, or any of its characters. **

**Misty: That's right, unfortunately. I only own Yumi and her story plot. Enjoy!**

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**First Encounters**

_(Yumi's POV)_

As usual Yuuko was right. A large sky-colored blob drooped down from the sky and revealed a boy that looked a few years younger than me. He was wearing a green cloak, similar to mine, and goggles. The boy was holding tightly on to a girl that was asleep and looked about his age. _She must be the desert princess…_I thought. _Sakura, if I'm correct. _She was wearing an unusual outfit that was purple and white.

"Are you the witch of dimensions?" the boy cried desperately.

"I have been called that." Yuuko answered.

"Please...please…PLEASE SAVE SAKURA!" he shouted at us.

"This child's name is Sakura, you say." Yuuko bent down. The boy nodded his head. "Yours is?"

"S-Syaoran." Syaoran (Now I figured out his name) said. Yuuko moved her white hand over to the girl. She placed her hand over Sakura's forehead and a soft golden glow shined.

"This child has lost something very important to her."

"Yes."

"And…" Yuuko paused to stand back up, "That thing was scattered across various worlds. If she continues on like this, this child will die."

The moment Syaoran heard those words, he clutched Sakura tighter. I tapped Yuuko on the shoulder and murmured, "The others are coming." I pointed towards the sky.

"Watanuki! Go to the safe. There is something I need there." She turned to me. "You go with him." I nodded and ran off, directing Watanuki in the right direction. On my way, I heard Yuuko ask Syaoran if he wanted to help the princess.

We both continued through the doors, to the storage room. "This way." I told him. Watanuki nodded and followed.

"What's going on Yumi-san?" he asked, trying to keep the same pace as me.

"The journey is about to begin." I explained and dusted off a safe. Some of it flew up in the air and right into Watanuki's face.

He coughed and swatted the rest away. "What journey?"

I paid no attention and opened the safe. I reached in and pulled out two rabbits. One was white with a red stone on its forehead; I picked it up and held it. The other one was black, with a blue stone and I tossed this one to Watanuki.

"W-What the hell are these things?" he yelled.

"Sorry, but I don't have any time for your spazzing right now. We need to hurry." I pointed at the rabbit he was holding. "The white one's name is Soel, and the one you're holding, that one is Larg, but you will refer to both of them as Mokona Modoki." I closed the safe swiftly and walked out of the room.

"Wait, are you going too?"

"I am."

"What about school? You're a grade ahead of me, so I can't cover for you."

"Tell them…I moved."

"What am I going to tell Himawari-chan?"

I stopped in my tracks. "Tell her the same thing." Himawari and I were best friends, well I didn't have many because I kept my distance from everyone, but Himawari and I were a little bit the same. Watanuki nodded in understanding.

We both stepped out into the pouring rain and I came over and handed Mokona to Yuuko. I stood beside her with Moru and Maru, holding a sword and a magical tattoo. I also eyed the other two that just came. One had jet-black hair, with a pissed expression, and was wearing black. The other was blonde and had on a large white coat with blue markings. I looked down at the wet concrete (even though I still had my hood on and they couldn't see my face.)

Yuuko told the group about Mokona. How it worked, how we would land in different dimensions, and how we would all communicate through the other Mokona. I have already heard all of this before, so I didn't see a reason to listen again. The witch turned to Syaoran and told him his price.

"Syaoran, your price, is your relationship. The thing you value most, is your relationship with this girl. So that will be your price."

"My price…but-"

"Even if she gains all of her memories, she will never remember the bond you two had once shared." Yuuko narrowed her eyes. "So. What is she to you?"

Syaoran looked back down at Sakura. "She's…She's a childhood friend and the princess of our country and, and a girl who is most precious to me!"

"I see. However if you want to accept Mokona, then that bond will be broken. Even if you find all of her memories, the one memory that she will never get back is her memory of you. That is my price. Will you still pay it?"

It became deathly silent for a moment. The only noise was the rain. "Fine. I will NOT let Sakura die."

"Very well." Yuuko moved her gaze toward me. "Yumi, we have already discussed your wish. You still wish to regain memories of your mother."

"That is correct."

"Now for your price." She tapped her chin. "Memories." she said

"I'm sorry, but I do not have any ones to give you." All 3 of the boys were staring at us. I saw the blonde wizard was smiling and staring with interest.

"I'm not asking you to give me any. I will give them back to you." This genuinely surprised me.

"What?" I kept my voice calm.

"You wish to retrieve something I took from you. So I am giving you something that you gave to me." she explained. "When you were younger you gave me 'those' memories and said you never wanted to remember them. You experienced one this morning." she smiled.

"You did that?" I hissed. "…Fine you can do whatever." I said after thinking about it.

"This is how it will work, when Syaoran gives Sakura one of her feathers, and after you fall asleep, I will give back one memory of your mother and another of your past."

"Okay…I will pay your price." I mumbled. Yuuko smiled again and motioned me to stand with the group. I slowly walked over as Yuuko held her arm out.

"Very well. Now go!" at that moment Mokona hopped out of the woman's hands and grew wings. It flew up into the air and opened its mouth wide. Probably wider than it's small body and began to suck all 5 of us in. Syaoran held Sakura even tighter and squeezed his eyes shut. The black haired man looked like he was trying to fight the current. I pushed a stand of my blonde hair behind my ear and closed my eyes. _Here we go. _The rabbit had successfully sucked us all in and everything went dark…

Yuuko moved her head up towards the sky and the clouds began to part. "I wish…" the rain stopped falling as the sun began to shine through, "the 5 of you the best on your journey…"

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**Misty: Now we are on the way to the 1****st**** world! I will post as soon as I can. **

**Mokona: Please review. Mekyo~ **


	3. Welcome to Hanshin Repbulic

**Misty: Sorry! I probably could have posted this sooner, but I went over to my friends' house and it took me off schedule. Again sorry, here is chapter 2.**

**Yumi: Misty-san doesn't own Tsubasa or any of its characters. Just me, my past, and other OC's. **

**Misty: (Note: Yumi always keeps her face expressionless, unless I say she changes.) **

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**Welcome to Hanshin Republic**

_So much_ _darkness…I'm scared…_**Shut up**. _I'm scared…_**SHUT UP**!

Yumi opened her eyes and found herself staring in her cloak hood. She groaned and sat up, balancing herself on her arms.

"Oh! So you're awake," A male voice said. Yumi looked up at the wizard right in front of her. She said nothing, but looked around. They were in a small apartment; she guessed that it was owned by Sorata since it looked the same last time she came to the Hanshin Republic.

_We must be in the Hanshin Republic then. _The girl thought.

"Hello?" Fai said and waved a gloved hand in front of her face. "Can you even see, from behind your cloak?" Yumi nodded once and scanned the room.

"Yes, I can see very well," she answered.

Fai held up a towel. "I was going to help you dry off, but you weren't wet," he smiled. "I thought it was pretty odd, but I sense strong power coming from you. You can use magic can't you?"

"Yumi-chi knows how to use all kinds of magic!" Mokona bounced over to them.

"Is that so?" Fai asked. "That's amazing!" Mokona went back over to Syaoran and began to dry his face.

"It's not that amazing." she said, with a bored tone. "You can use magic too, can't you, Fai D. Flourite?" The smile disappeared from Fai's mouth.

"How did-"

"PUU!" Mokona exclaimed.

"S…akura?" Syaoran mumbled.

"In the end you didn't grab Mokona." It cried and was scooped up by the wizard.

"So are you awake?" he asked.

_Of course he is, his eyes are open aren't they? _

"SAKURA!" Syaoran yelled, and bolted up. He relaxed a bit when he saw his childhood friend in his arms.

"We tried drying her off, since she got pretty wet in the rain. Even when you were asleep, you never let go of that girl once." The smile returned on his face. "So you…err…"

"I'm Syaoran."

"My name is pretty long, but you can call me Fai." He took a quick glance at the girl behind him. "Hey! You over there Mr. Black!"

"I am NOT MR. BLACK!" the ninja yelled. "I'm KUROGANE!"

"Kurogane, huh? How about Kuro-chi or Kuro-rin?"

"IT'S KUROGANE YOU IDIOT!" he shouted. Yumi let out a sigh and directed her gaze to Syaoran. He held Sakura's body even closer, almost as if he let go she would break. At that moment Fai stuck his hand into Syaoran's cloak.

"What are you doing?" Yumi asked.

Fai pulled out a white feather, with a heart-shaped pattern. "Is this a memory fragment for this child?" Yumi glared at Fai. _How could he have had one on him? I didn't sense any power emanating from him… _

"Huh?" Syaoran asked.

"It was stuck to you only one though." he said. _He must have brought it with him_. Fai let go of the feather and it dissolved into the princess's body. Syaoran smiled a little. "Of it weren't for that feather, she might have died already."

"That wouldn't be too good for you plan now would it?" the blonde muttered eyeing the magician.

"It was chance that it stuck to my clothes."

"There is no such thing as chance…only Hitsuzen. That is what the witch said. Unconsciously, you must have caught the feather…to help the girl." Fai put his head in his hands. "Of course I'm just guessing all of this." Yumi just sat there in silence, wondering what he was thinking about.

"So, how are we going to search for the feathers?" she cut in.

"MOKONA KNOWS!" She hopped up from out of nowhere. "Just now there was a strong wave from the feather. If it is close, Mokona will know it. When Mokona catches a wave…Mokona's eyes will get really big like this!" her eyes became very large with her mouth wide open. Syaoran, Yumi and Kurogane sweat-dropped.

"So if a feather is close by, Mokona will be able to tell." Fai summarized.

"Will you tell me, if you do sense one?" Syaoran asked while Kurogane was in the corner trying to steady his heartbeat from seeing Mokona's eyes.

"Leave it to me!" Syaoran thanked the white creature, with all of his heart.

"Whether or not you guys decide to search for the feathers is up to you, but this has nothing to do with me." Kurogane stated. "I came here to return to me own world. I don't plan on helping you or joining you."

"…"

"I understand that this is my problem. I will try not to burden you." Syaoran finally said.

Fai laughed, "Ha ha. You're very serious aren't you Syaoran-kun?"

"And you?" Kurogane asked Fai. "Are you going to help the kid?"

Fai's smile widened, "Of course. Returning to my world to not my priority. I'll help as long as my life isn't in harm. Besides, I don't have anything else to do."

Syaoran turned to the shrouded girl. "What about you?"

"Hm? One of my missions here is to help, so that's exactly what I'm going to do," she clarified.

"Would you mind telling us your name?" he asked politely.

"My name is Yumi Ichihara, Nice to meet you Syaoran-san."

"O-Oh! You don't have to call me that! Just Syaoran is fine."

"YO! You guys finally woke up." Everyone tensed up (With the exception of Yumi). "Don't be so alarmed! You came from Ichihara-sans place right?" Sorata asked, with Arashi behind, carrying blankets.

"Ichihara-san?" Syaoran asked, turning to Yumi again.

"You know, Yuuko-san. The Witch of Dimensions or the Far East Witch. She is called by many names.

Arashi moved over to Sakura and handed Syaoran some blankets. "My name is Arisugawa Sorata."

"I'm Arashi." she bowed. "Welcome back Yumi." Arashi handed Yumi some tea and offered some to Kurogane and Fai.

Yumi bowed in response. "Thanks."

"By the way, this is my lovely wife, honey. So people…engrave that in your minds." He put his hands on Kurogane's shoulders, "If you flirt will her you will die horribly."

"WHY THE HELL IS IT ONLY ME?" he shouted.

"Nori~Nori~" Mokona and Sorata sang, "But I am serious." He gave the ninja a thumbs-up.

"I WON'T FLIRT." Kurogane yelled. Sorata picked Mokona up.

"Didn't Yuuko-san give you this?" he asked.

"Mokona Modoki," Mokona chanted.

"You even brought Yumi along too?" Sorata said, finally noticing her.

"So even you guys know each other?" Fai asked.

"I've been sitting here, for a while now," she muttered.

"Yup! That's definitely her. But…why are you still covering your face? Are you afraid for these guys to see it?" he smirked. Yumi sighed and pulled her hood off, revealing her face.

Syaoran and Kurogane had a faint blush on their cheeks. Syaoran quickly turned back to the sleeping Sakura, and Kurogane just looked away. The girl before them was very attractive. She had mid-back length blonde hair, and violet eyes. Fai scanned her over and smiled. "Yumi-chan is very pretty~" he sang.

"Shut up!" she yelled at him. "And DON'T call me Yumi-chan!"

"Anyway," Sorata chuckled, "The witch has told me about the situation. For one thing, you are lucky."

"Why's that?" Fai asked.

"Because, this is the 1st world you have arrived at, and there is nothing but happiness. Here it is." he said and opened the apartments screen door, with Mokona on his shoulder. "This is the Hanshin Republic."

_Yumi POV _

Sorata and Arashi got out some puppets and decided to use them, to help explain what there country was like. They discussed things like the country's economy, foods, seasons, the shape of the country and the currency. (Things I have already heard before.) I also heard Sorata telling Fai and Syaoran about his job, while I was thinking about different things. _Which one do I have to be the most on guard around?_ _Maybe it would just be better if I didn't get close to any of them. I'll just focus on my mission; Fei Wong Reed's plan must not be carried out. Just find all of Sakura-sans feathers- _my thoughts were cut off when something hit me in the back of the head. Kurogane jumped up, along with Syaoran. I just rubbed the back of my head. "What the hell Sorata!"

"I didn't sense anything." Kurogane looked around the room. "You threw something didn't you?"

"If he did the angle of effect would be different. It was from the top." Fai said, seriously. _So he isn't just a complete idiot._

"I just used my Kudan." Sorata said, with a confused expression.

"Kudan?" all three boys asked.

"They're from a different dimension, so they don't know what it is." I told him.

Sorata used his puppet once again, to explain 'Kudan.' He wrote in Kanji, which Syaoran and Kurogane could read but Fai couldn't. _Since Syaoran is an archeologist, he could probably read many different languages._

"Um, what is this 'Kudan'?" Kurogane inquired.

"Even if you are from a different dimension, you will still inherit a 'Kudan'. Arashi explained. She sat down next to the princess. "Can I call her Sakura-san?" Syaoran nodded. "You don't know where the fragments of Sakura-sans memories could be. In that case, they could get into anyone's hands. You don't know if a conflict will arise from this." Syaoran stared at Arashi with a worried expression.

"How do you know?" Fai asked.

"Arashi-san used to be a Miko. She has a six-sense." I put in.

"But she retired, because she married me. She looked so beautiful in her Miko outfit."

"I gave the witch of dimensions my power." Fai said.

"I gave that bitch my sword."

Arashi turned to Syaoran, "I did not hand over any powers to Yuuko-san. I didn't have any magical powers or weapons to begin with.

"Maybe you're lucky. Kudans can also be used as weapons." Arashi smiled.

"What it is and how to use it, that's something that you have to see for your self. To understand what a Kudan is, you have to see it with your own eyes." Sorata leaned down to Mokona in Syaoran's hands. "Is there a feather in this country?"

Mokona glowed, "Yes. There is a feather but it's far away."

Syaoran smiled. _Knowing that a feather is here, it must be easier on him so he can find more._ I thought.

"Thank you, Mokona." Syaoran thanked it again.

"Okay, I'll take care of you guys until you depart." Sorata took Arashi's hand. "We are in her debt." I could have sworn I saw Arashi blush a little. I wonder why. "This is our hotel; you can stay here, until you go to another world." Syaoran and I thanked them one more time. "I'll assign the rooms! Kurogane and Fai will share a room."

"YAY!" Mokona squealed.

"Okay~" Fai added.

"WHAT? WHY?" Kurogane demanded.

"Think of it as payback for looking at my honey."

"I DIDNT-" he got cut of as Sorata pushed him out the door.

"Use this room." Arashi suggested. "What about you Yumi?"

"I'll stay here with Sakura too." I answered. "To help protect her." Syaoran smiled and thanked me.

"Get some rest you two." Arashi bid us good night.

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"_Get her! Don't let her get away!" A mob of townspeople began to chase a little girl. "We have to catch her!" Various cries erupted from them. The girl in front of them tripped and fell right onto the snowy pavement. "Now we got her." One of the men sneered, "So all we have to do is kill her and we get the money? Heh. Easy job." The girl held up her arms._

"_N-NO! Please don't hurt me!" she cried, terrified._

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Yumi shot up out of bed. She was breathing quickly and heavily, with her heart beating at the speed of a cheetah. "Was that another dream? Or a memory…" So that was some of what I wanted to forget. I looked down at Syaoran, who was still asleep, holding onto Sakura's hand. It was almost morning, so I decided to go ahead and get changed. I put on the pair of jeans and tucked the ends into my boots. My shirt was short-sleeved and reached past my waist by a few centimeters. It was a light red-ish color. Arashi laid this out huh?

Outside, everyone was newly-dressed and ready to go. Syaoran looked at the apartment window nervously.

"Don't worry, I'll look after Sakura." Arashi reassuringly told him.

"Okay."

"Do we have to bring this white thing with us?" Kurogane grunted.

"Mokona is not a white-thing, Mokona is Mokona!" she pounced on Kurogane's face.

"Here take this with you." Sorata held out a frog-shaped coin purse and placed it in Syaoran's hand. "There is money inside, you four go eat together."

"Why does the kid get to hold it?"

"Because he looks the most trustworthy." Sorata flashed another thumbs-up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurogane yelled. Fai and Mokona were laughing really hard at Kurogane's face.

As we were walking through the Hanshin Republic, Fai pointed out, "It's crowded! Tall buildings, right next to small ones!" he gave another goofy smile. "Has Syaoran-kun seen any kind of scenery like this?"

"N-No."

"Ah. Have you Yumi-chan?"

I glanced up at Fai. "Yes, I have. It looks sort of like New York. Or Japan." I narrowed my violet eyes. Why is he acting all friendly?

"And you, Kuro-tan?"

"NO!AND DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME BY THAT NAME!"

Syaoran began to get all nervous again. I pat him on the back, calming him down a bit. Two high school girls passed, smiling and giggling at Mokona.

"You are being laughed at." Kurogane smirked.

"Mokona is very popular!" Mokona blushed.

"You wish."

"Welcome! You want some apples?" A street vendor said as we passed by. Syaoran looked puzzled at the sight of the apple.

"That is an apple?" he wondered.

"Apple? Or course it's an apple." The man insisted.

"Apples in your world don't look like this?" Fai asked.

"The shape is the same, but the color is more yellow."

"That's a pear." Kurogane interjected.

"No, pears are redder with a stalk at the top."

"That's a Raki Fruit." Fai said.

"In my world, apples can be both yellow and red. Pears are a completely different shape. Syaoran, Fai what you are talking about, sounds like a carrot or a tomato." I cut in.

"Hey! Do you want them or not?" the (impatient) vendor asked.

"Want it." Mokona and I said together.

I paid the vendor for five apples and we started eating them on a bridge, linking the town together. "These apples taste so good!" Fai exclaimed.

"They really do." Syaoran said.

"But we really are from different worlds. Oh! I forgot to ask, how did you get the dimensional witch's place?"

"The high priest in my country sent me."

"That priest must really be something. It's not easy to transport even a single person, yet he managed two at once!" I took a small bite out of my apple. "What about you Kuro-rin?"

"Stop calling me that, wizard." Kurogane muttered. "I was sent away forcefully by the princess of my country."

Fai laughed. "You must have done something bad, so you were punished."

"What about you?" he grumbled.

"Me? I went there on my own."

"Then you didn't have to ask Yuuko-san for help. You could've traveled between worlds yourself." I said.

"I can't. Even with all of my power I can only transport myself to another world once." He smiled. I glared at him, but he didn't notice. "Let me guess, you sent yourself. But…now that I think about it, you said your last name was Ichihara, like Sorata-san said that Yuuko's last name was. Are you both related?"

I began to nibble on the sweet apple and closed my eyes, letting the breeze wash over my face. "Yes, you could say that. I am her daughter, even though we aren't related by blood." My eyes opened to the waters reflection. I was surprised to see that the reflection wasn't of me, but a girl with long light brown hair, wearing a hat. She stared at me worriedly, and then disappeared. I frowned and shook my head thinking I was imagining it. I lifted my head up to find Fai's face was _too _close to mine. "What?"

"Nothing~." He looked down at his apple and said, "But even if the people, who sent Syaoran-kun and Kuro-rin used all of their power, I suppose that they could only transport someone to another world once." We all stared at the wizard, Kurogane looking like he didn't believe him.

Syaoran's brown eyes saddened. "Sakura…" I looked over to him, with a jaded expression.

Screams and shouts were heard above and we all spun around to face a gang of men in goggles and scarf's standing on top of a building.

"We'll get you for sure this time! This territory belongs to us!" A different gang yelled to the first one. Shougo (I recognized) gave them a thumbs-down.

"Hyuu." Fai tried to whistle.

They must be fighting for territories again. Things really haven't changed that much. Both gangs jumped down and charged, with their Kudans ready.

"So that's a Kudan?" Kurogane asked.

"So that's why Mokona didn't scare anyone even though she could move around." Fai concluded.

I nodded once. "Most Kudan are in the shape of animals."

A large sting-ray materialized above Shougo and attacked an on-coming Kudan. Some of the powers got out of control and headed straight for a kid that had fallen.

"WATCH OUT!" Syaoran called. He ran over to the boy and blocked the other Kudans attack, with his own. Fire swirled around his head. The fire formed into a wolf, that floated in mid-air.

"Hm. It looks like you have a high level Kudan too." Shougo smirked while Syaoran glared.

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**Misty: Phew. Finally done. This chapter rounds up to about 10 pages. **

**Mokona: Thanks for reading so far!**

**Misty: Note to the reflection Yumi saw in the water. Can you figure out who she is? It might be a clue for another story. :) **

**Mokona: Please review, and thank you to Ocean Ann Midnight and **

**dark-inu-yami for adding my story to your favorites list. See you guys later!**


	4. Finding Our Kudans

**Misty: Chapter 3 up now! School has been tough. But I only have less than two weeks left!**

**Fai: Hyuu. That's great! **

**Misty: It sure is. I'm happy to be rid of it soon! **

**Fai: *smiles* We would also like to thank MusicAngel92 and IcyQueen for being our first review. Here is Chapter 3!**

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**Finding our Kudans**

The water evaporated above Syaoran as he stood in front of the kid protectively. "A Kudan that manipulates fire, huh? I'm water and you're fire…this should be fun." Shougo smirked. His Kudan opened its mouth wide and shot a blast of water. Syaoran raised his arms, blocking and evaporating the water. "I'm Asagi Shougo. And you?"

"Syaoran."

"I like your style kid." Sirens wailed just around the corner.

"Shougo! It's the cops!" One of the men said.

"Damn. This is bad timing. You guys know the drill, split up!" Shougo looked at Syaoran one more time before fleeing. "I can't wait to see you again."

The fire wolf became smaller and disappeared inside Syaoran. Fai, Kurogane, and I ran up to him. "You were great! Was all of that your doing?" Fai asked.

"So that was a Kudan." Kurogane said more to himself than us.

"I don't really know, but my body started getting hotter…" he paused and knelt back down to the two boys. "Are you both okay?" The first boy shook his head. The second one bowed and vanished into the first boy. I've seen that boy before around town last time. He has a pretty weak Kudan.

"It DISAPEARRED!" Syaoran shouted.

Fai pounded his fist on his hand. "So that was a Kudan too!" He put his hand over his eyes as if searching for something. "By the way, where is that 'Kudan' of ours?"

"Ah isn't it squished somewhere?" Kurogane said with a small hopeful tone.

I pointed to a group of girls. "Not exactly." All of the girls were surrounding Mokona, hugging and squeezing her. I heaved a sigh. Why is Mokona goofing off? We are supposed to be on a mission.

"MOKONA IS SO POPULAR!" she squealed with delight. The wizard laughed.

"Where were you Mokona?" he asked.

"Mokona was on top of Kuro-rin, but then he threw Mokona off," she jumped onto the archeologist's head. "And also, Mokona went like this!" she opened her eyes really wide.

"One of Sakura-hime's feathers is near by?"

"It was there before, but now Mokona doesn't feel it anymore."

"Do you know who has it?"

"No." Syaoran tried to hide his disappointment.

"It would be difficult to figure out who was there a few minutes ago." I added. "And it looks like mostly everyone is gone. The fact we know someone has it is good."

Syaoran nodded at me and smiled. "If you sense it again please tell me."

"~Okay~ Mokona will try hard!"

"It's all Kuro-chans fault Mokona fell off." Fai teased.

"Why blame me?"

"Can you both shut up!" I yelled.

"Excuse me! Thank you very much!" The boy said all of a sudden. "I'm Saito Masayoshi. I want to do something to thank you."

"Mokona wants to go eat at a good place!" Mokona suggested from atop Syaoran's head. Masayoshi nodded and smiled.

* * *

Noodles began to sizzle on the table. It filled the air with a delicious scent. No doubt Larg would want to eat here to. Syaoran and Masayoshi sat on one side of the booth, while Kurogane, Fai, and I sat on the other side. I happened to be nearest to the window.

"This is…"

"Okonomiyaki." I answered and took a sip from my drink.

"I like this Okonomiyaki the best. It's quite good." Masayoshi shyly looked down.

"I've eaten here before. It's not bad." I murmured.

Masayoshi blushed. I closed my eyes and turned my head away.

"Yumi-chan has a boyf-" Fai began to sing, I elbowed him in the stomach. "Ouch! Yumi-chan, why do you have to be so mean?" he smiled playfully.

"Did you guys also come from outside of Hanshin?" Masayoshi asked.

"Well you could say that…" Fai rested his chin in his hands. Kurogane didn't bother talking, for he was to busy staring at his food. Jeez, why did my traveling companions have to be so weird? I guess I have to put up with them now. Kurogane continued to stare at the Okonomiyaki. A shiver ran up my spine…at the feeling of someone watching me. My gaze followed the source and ended up in the sky. _So 'he' is watching me, huh? _I smirked. _You're not going to beat me! Fei Wong! I will protect Sakura!_

"Shougo is amazing!" Masayoshi's voice broke through my thoughts. He stood up in the booth, with side glances directed toward him. He sat back down quickly with an embarrassed expression. I coughed, just to break the silence. That always made me uncomfortable.

"What do you think about Syaoran-kun's Kudan?"

"I also admire him." he beamed, "The top Kudan is with you. That's a great thing."

"What's that?" Syaoran asked.

"The best Kudan; the 4th level is at the bottom. 3rd Level, 2nd Level, 1st Level and it goes up. The top is the best. Having the best Kudan was stopped by the countries a long time ago, but people still use it." The kid turned to me again. "Yumi-san and Syaoran-kun definitely have 1st rate Kudans."

"You've seen mine?" I asked, indifferently.

"Oh yes. After that battle you had with Primera-chan, everybody knows."

"It wasn't really a battle. More like a contest."

"A strong Kudan only goes with people who have a strong mind. A Kudan reflects the strength of his or her mind. I admire that, but mine is at the bottom." He looked down.

"Masayoshi-kun…" Syaoran began to say. Fai had a cat-like grin on his face, like he was predicting something was about to happen.

"WAIT!" a voice yelled, causing Kurogane to jump. Two figures appeared; One man with dark hair and another with silver hair and glasses.

"KING! AND HIGH PRIEST?" Syaoran exclaimed jumping out of his seat also.

"Huh? I think you're mistaken…I'm not the king." the dark haired man said. "And sir, please wait so you don't knock anything over." My guess was that Kurogane-san tried to flip his Okonomiyaki.

"He was a King in your country?" Fai asked looked over his shoulder at the men who just stopped by. Syaoran nodded. "And the other was the high priest? It's exactly like the witch of dimensions said,"

"You might meet someone you know from a different world but in different worlds they have different lives." I finished.

"You have an excellent memory." Fai commented.

"I guess, I remember many things. Things you might even know." I narrowed my eyes, seeing what he would say. The wizard just kept smiling like he didn't hear it.

"So those are the king and priest from the kid's world?" Kurogane asked.

"They are the same and not. Because, like Yumi-chan said, they have different lives. But at the same time, their connections are the same, aren't they?"

"Connections?"

"Their name, appearance and heart." Fai made a heart with his hand.

"If so, I hope we don't run into another you. I can't take just one of you." I muttered.

"If we run into another you, I hope she would be sweeter." he grinned. I slammed my fist on the table.

"ARE YOU MOCKING ME?"

"Oops. I made Yumi-chan mad!" he laughed happily. _God this guy is really-_

"Yumi-san please calm down!" Syaoran began to get nervous again. I breathed in and began to sip more of my soda. _Seriously? How hard is it to call me Yumi-SAN?_ Everyone finally began to eat. Fai was having trouble using chopsticks, Syaoran was absentmindedly playing with his chopsticks, and Kurogane and Mokona were playing tug-a-war with a piece of food.

* * *

"That was delicious!" Mokona sigh happily, her stomach round.

"So, what do we do now?" Fai wondered.

"How about we look around more?" Syaoran suggested. Mokona hopped over to my head, from his. I took another long sip from my cup.

"Do you have to sip so loud?" Kurogane complained.

"Is it bothering you?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I took an ever louder sip, just trying to bug him. A vein popped from his forehead. "You're such a brat."

"Is that my new nickname?" I asked sarcastically.

"Shut up smart ass." He smirked. Masayoshi waved and told us he needed to call his parents, to show us around.

"He sure does look up to you." Fai grinned.

"About my dream last night, the thing that came from me was also in my dream about a fire beast."

"I had a strange beast with a beast in it as well." Kurogane projected from in front of a Piffle Store window. Fai nodded, agreeing.

"HEY!" A fat man with a Mohawk came up. "Are you Syaoran? The boy that Shougo said he liked?" he questioned.

"What if I am?" Fai teased.

"I'm Syaoran." he said.

"You? You're just a kid." he tapped his chin, "Are you going to join Shougo's team?"

"Team?"

"Don't play dumb! If you join Shougo's team I will never forgive you!"

"I don't intend to."

"Then join us!"

"I don't want to."

"Ha. Ha. Syaoran-kun speaks so firmly." Fai chuckled.

"Do…DO YOU PLAN ON MAKING YOUR OWN TEAM?" the fat man screeched.

"No that's not-"

"I'm going to break you to pieces!" A large fish Kudan appeared above the man.

"I don't plan to fight!" Syaoran protested. The fish swung its tail directly at him. I jumped in-between and a purple sphere the size of a beach ball formed in my hand. I raised my hand up and fired it and the Kudan. "Yumi-san?"

"Stay back!" I did a back-flip avoiding one if the attacks. I pushed my blonde hair behind my ear and shot a violet beam back at the Kudan. I landed back near Mokona and the others.

"This is getting boring." Kurogane stepped up. "What are you doing here?" he smirked. I dusted off my jeans and frowned. "Who says you get to fight?"

"This is a job for men, step back." He ordered.

This made my face turn slightly red with anger. "So you're saying a girl can't fight?" Kurogane didn't answer back; I saw he already began to fight. I growled and walked away. "Who gives him the right to just imply that? Anyone can fight." I muttered between my teeth.

"L-Let go of me." A small voice said. I turned to a corner of the shopping mall, that wasn't evacuated, and saw a girl trying to get away from a guy. "Please. I don't want to."

"That doesn't mean you can't come along quietly." The guy pulled out a switchblade and held it up to the girl's face. "Now what was your answer?" he sounded like he was smirking. I can't believe no one was helping this girl. Getting a closer look she was another Himawari. I tapped the man on the shoulder, "What?" he sounded annoyed. I remembered I had my cup still in my hand so I took the lid off and splashed the soda on his face.

"Stay. Away. From. Her." I glared. He wiped his eyes and looked at me. My eyes widened. _T-This was the guys who was going to kill me, in my memory! He must be another look alike._

"Oh another one! And she's cute too." He tried to grab my shoulder. My own hand flew up to his; I grabbed his arm and flipped him over my shoulder. It looked like I knocked him out. The other Himawari thanked me and took her leave. I turned to go as well, when I heard clapping.

"Fai?"

He laughed. "That was excellent! You're a lot stronger than any of us thought." He held my arm and waved it around. "Though I think it's strange that you have so much arm strength, when your arms are so thin." I retracted my arm back.

"Who cares? I'm just a weak little girl."

"I thought that might bother you. The way you looked…have you been told that before?" Fai sat down on a bench and motioned for me to sit too.

"Dozens of times." I answered while sitting. "I don't like the fact that I used to be weak. So I trained really hard to become stronger." We sat in silence for a little while longer. "Fai, when you said that transporting yourself to another dimension would take about all you can do…that was a lie wasn't it?"

Fai stared straight into my violet eyes. He wasn't smiling, nor did his eyes mock, he was searching for something. "Yumi-chan is so adorable!" he hugged me, smiling brightly. **(Author Note: Aw. The first FaiYumi moment!)**

"Ugh. Let go of me you baka!"

"Don't act like you haven't lied to us." he murmured, still holding onto me. "We should get back, Arashi-san and Sorata-san are probably wondering where we are." He stood up, as did I, and we began to make our way back to the apartment.

* * *

When we got back, Fai bid me good night and I got back to Syaoran and Sakura's room. Syaoran was already asleep, holding onto Sakura's hand again. I sat down and leaned against the wall. My eyes closed and I ended up falling asleep again.

_Beautiful music floated around a large, sun lit piano room. Yumi raced down the halls and came upon the open room. A large smile on her face, she stepped in. "That's a beautiful song, mama!" she sat on the bench with her mother. The woman in front of the little blond had no face, and the memory was in black and white. The woman opened her voice to speak…then everything vanished._

* * *

"As I thought. Everyone doesn't walk with their Kudan out." Fai concluded.

"Even if we find a Kudan with the feather, will it give up the feather that easily?" Kurogane's gruff voice asked.

_I wonder…was that a memory of my mother? I couldn't see her face. I still don't know who she is…or was._ That thought caused a sharp pain in my heart. For all I know, she could be dead. But about that girl I saw in the water…she looked to young to be my mother. That still doesn't explain why she appeared before me. Syaoran suddenly yelled. I was about to ask what, when I saw Masayoshi's Kudan sticking its head out from the wall.

"Syaoran-kun!" Masayoshi called, running at top speed.

"Masayoshi-kun!" Syaoran turned his attention away from the thing that just freaked him out.

"Did you guys find what you're looking for?" he panted.

"Not yet." Mokona looked worried.

"Then please let me guide you again."

"Are you sure?"

"Today's Sunday, so I'm off for the whole day!"

"How were you able to find where we were?" Fai asked, leaning down a little. I never really noticed how tall he and everyone was. I hate being short for my age. Syaoran is taller than me, still not by much, but he's younger than me!

"My Kudan lets me know where people I've met are at."

"Wow!" Mokona squealed jumping onto Masayoshi.

"But…that's all it can do, really." A large bird swooped down out of the sky and grabbed Masayoshi and Mokona by the collar of his shirt. He screamed down at us for help. I began to take a step back, when another bird grabbed me by the shirt and began to fly with the others.

"Yumi-san! Masayoshi-kun! Mokona!" I heard Syaoran yell. Even though we were being whisked away I couldn't feel any emotion of worry or despair.

* * *

The birds ended up taking us to Hanshin Castle and tying us with ropes to the highest point on the castle. Masayoshi was crying and flailing around, like an ant. Mokona was singing and happily swinging through the air. I just hung quietly, looking like I was standing. This was pointless though, I can easily break through rope. I help up my hand and shot another purple ball at the rope above me. I landed quietly on my feet and turned to Masayoshi. "I'll get you down in a second. I need to check something. Be right back." I hopped down and snuck my way onto a balcony. I saw a familiar green haired girl with buns looking out and talking to her guards.

"Yes. This kid has to be Syaoran, he was the shortest of the group." One of them was telling the girl.

"Well, unfortunately he isn't." I said. Everyone turned to look at me.

Primera smirked, "So you've returned Yumi." I nodded. "Wait. What do you mean, this kid isn't Syaoran?"

"He just isn't." I replied flatly. Primera got out a large fan and began to hit her guards in the head.

"You idiots! You got the wrong person!" She smoothed her hair and turned to me once again. "I have a score to settle with you."

"Still a sore loser?" I kept from smirking. Primera's face turned red, with anger.

"Who's the one who wrote this letter?" I heard a familiar voice shout.

"~I did~" Primera sang from atop the balcony.

"Primera-chan! Primera~" her many fans happily cried.

"Who's this?" Kurogane frowned.

"How could you not know Primera-chan? She's our idol! She can sing, dance, and has sexy legs. And on top of that, she's got a strong Kudan! She's cute, strong, and awesome!" the fans answered at once.

"I need to find out which one is Syaoran!" Primera shouted.

"I'm Syaoran. Please let Masayoshi, Mokona, and Yumi go! Wait…where's Yumi-san?" I stepped out from the shadows next to my rival.

"Here. I'm fine everyone."

Primera pointed at me, "You and I are going to settle this now! I am going to prove that I'm a better singer than you."

"What's she talking about?" Syaoran asked.

"Last time I came to Hanshin, Primera challenged me to a sing-off…and I beat her. Apparently she still hasn't let it go…"

"That's enough! Lets go my Kudan!" she flashed a smile and a microphone formed into her hand. "Call yours." She urged.

"Fine." I held my arm straight out in front of me. "My Kudan, show yourself." A small chirping was heard and a small canary landed on my arm.

"That's such a puny Kudan!" Kurogane gaped.

"SHUT UP!" I retorted. The bird chirped joyfully, flew right into my chest and dissolved. My body glowed. Two large wings flapped, from behind me, propelling me into the air. A microphone similar to Primera's shined in front of me. I clutched it tightly and looked back to Primera. She tossed me a music sheet and said, "You and I are going to sing this song at the same time. We can throw attacks all we want and the last one standing wins. Got it?"

"Yes." My hand hovered above the sheet, I closed my eyes and I took in and memorized the lyrics. _Got them_. "Ready?" I asked.

"Yes." she smirked again. I opened my mouth and the words flowed out.

_koboredasu itami sae nijinda kage e to kuchihateta_

_itsuwari ga kirisaita chikai no shita de kazashita tenohira_

_aganai wo machiwabite ita setsuna no tenshi_

_kuruwaseteta yoru e izanae_

_sekai ga owari wo tsugete mo_

_saigo no kibou idakitai_

_chikatta ano hi ano basho de_

_tomo to asu no tame ni..._

_kanashimi ni michita utsuro na kyouzou_

_kuzurete yuku kokoro wo aganae_

_ikusen no toki no naka samayoitsu'zuketa kimi no te ga_

_eien no nemuri e to ochite yuku boku wo hikiyoseta_

_furueru yubisaki e tsutau setsuna no negai_

_tsu'zurareta kotoba ga kagayaku_

_namida wa kareru koto mo naku_

_asu e to tada nagarete yuku_

_mezameta ano hi ano basho de_

_tomo to asu no tame ni..._

_tokihanatsu kotoba mo itsuka wa_

_bokura wo iyasu monogatari_

_kagami ni utsushidasu sugata terasu hikari_

_sekai ga owari wo tsugete mo_

_saigo no kibou idakitai_

_chikatta ano hi ano basho de_

_tomo to asu no tame ni..._

_owaru koto no nai namida wo dakishime_

_utsukushiki rakuen wo aishite..._

_kanashimi ni michita utsuro na kyouzou_

_kuzurete yuku kokoro wo aganae..._

* * *

**Misty:** **Finally got it done~ Yumi-chan you're so mean, flipping that guy over and just leaving him there.**

**Yumi: So…?**

**Misty: Fai could have helped you out. *smirks***

**Yumi: I can fend for myself.**

**Misty: Maybe I should change your character…You and Fai make such a cute couple.**

**Yumi: …Please review.**

**Misty: Negative attitude~**

**Yumi: Just shut it! **


	5. Final Battles, 2nd Feather

**Kristin: Hello minna-san! Misty onee-chan is sick so I am filling in for her today!**

**Kurogane: Did you get permission to type this?**

**Kristin: Yes...Maybe…Nope~ Not at all.**

**Kurogane: Uh huh…**

**Kristin: I'm just changing the disclaimers is all~ Can you do them Kuro-puu?**

**Kurogane: Grrr. Misty doesn't own Tsubasa or any of its characters. Only Yumi and her story line.**

**Fai: You actually responded to your nickname!**

**Kristin: That's because I control everyone! Mwaaaahaha!**

**Mokona: YAY KURO-PYON~**

**

* * *

**

**Final Battles, 2nd Feather**

_Normal POV_

During the entire battle Primera summoned musical notes straight at Yumi. She dodged them with ease, barely sending attacks at Primera. Although she gave the winged girl confused looks, she continued attacking. When the song was over, Yumi hovered in the air, while Primera landed back on the balcony. They were both out of breath, while Primera asked, "Why didn't you try and hit me?"

Yumi glanced up and lowered to the ground, "I thought it was meaningless. We would both probably never solve this anyway. Why do you care if some of your fans said they liked my singing a **little** better than yours?" she narrowed her eyes.

"B-because everyone has to like my singing only, or they are NOT considered my fans."

"T-That's not true Primera-chan! We all still love you!" many of her fans cried again. "Don't kick us out of your fan club!" Yumi, Kurogane and Syaoran all sweat-dropped.

"Well, I'm done." Yumi said walking back towards the group, her canary wings disappearing.

"Did you get Mokona and Masayoshi-kun down?" Syaoran asked.

"…I forgot."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FORGOT?" Kurogane shouted.

"It's fine, I can just fly back up-"

"No, you don't have to Yumi-chan, I bet you're tired. I'll get them." Fai smiled.

"How?" Kurogane glared from over his shoulder.

"Using my Kudan." A large light green bird materialized around him and enveloped him in its wings. His body glowed for a second and he floated up in the air. _So he has one of my Kudan's powers?_ Yumi thought.

"He's flying too!" Syaoran exclaimed.

"These 'Kudan' are so mysterious." Kurogane noted.

"No way, he can fly too?" Primera stomped like a child.

"If you don't mind, miss. Could you please let our friends go?" Fai projected his voice so Primera could hear.

"No way, I still have to fight Syaoran-kun." Primera stated, with a smirk plastered on her mouth. "Now…Take this!" she sang loudly into her microphone. "HELLO EVERYONE!" the notes shot out straight towards Fai.

"FAI-SAN!" Syaoran yelled, soon after an explosion erupted.

"Look." Kurogane turned his attention upward.

"Well, that sure was surprising, after seeing the battle you just had, I still didn't see that coming." Fai flew out of the smoke with his signature grin. "This country is amazing, Mokona is having fun too."

"Yay! Yay!" Mokona clapped.

"Be careful Fai, Primera has a high ranking Kudan!" Masayoshi yelled down from his hanging point.

"NO! That's not fair! But…I WON'T LOSE!" Primera shot more letters and notes trying, her best to hit the flying wizard. "No dodging! Stop it! STOP RUNNING AWAAAAAAY!" She clenched her microphone tight in her fist. "Why can't I hit you?"

"If I let your Kudan hit me, it would hurt." he replied with a smile.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kurogane asked Syaoran, who was looking around frantically.

"I have to get up there to help Masayoshi-kun and Mokona. Also, Fai-san-"

"Don't worry, he'll be alright." Yumi's monotone voice responded.

"HOW DARE YOU! Take this!" The Hanshin singer sang louder and with more force than before. Of course the mage dodged with ease and barely got scratched.

"Is he dodging those attacks without using his Kudan?" Syaoran turned back to the ninja and the other mage.

"That's right. Although he looks weak, he's used to fighting." Kurogane glared.

"Yeah."

"You're not surprised?"

"I can see that from his movements and also you can feel the power in his eyes."

"That sort of goes for the brat too."

"Is that me?" Yumi asked.

"I can tell, by the way you fought, how you dodged so easily, this isn't the first time you've fought someone."

_Yumi POV_

"Hm. So you can tell that much?" _It's about time he realized he was wrong before._ I thought. I brushed my light hair from my eyes, looking back at the battle. Primera sang another high note, slamming right into the wizard.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Fai waved to us from a tree. How did he get there, if the attack was so far away? I guess I'll ask him later. "I didn't know that her microphone could transform. Looks like since Mokona didn't react the whole time she was using her Kudan, she must not have the feather."

"Give up~?"

"If I did, theoretically speaking, what would happen?"

"I would go on to fight Syaoran!"

"I'm sorry you can't do that. Syaoran-kun has more important things to worry about. I'll end this battle myself." Fai smugly said.

"Then…YOU HAVE TO BEAT ME FIRST!" Primera sang again, aimed for Fai. What did surprise me a little was when he jumped onto the notes and began to run across them. I heard Primera gasped in shock as well. He ran all the way up to her, and pinned her to the roof. Since they were so far up, I couldn't hear what they said, but I was sure Primera was going to cry…loud. I covered my ears.

"You might want to do the same."

"Why?" Kurogane gave me a skeptical look.

"I CAN'T LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!" The sound of Primera's screaming had an impact on the point where Mokona and Masayoshi hung. The top of the roof broke apart and the two began to plummet to the ground.

"Watch out!" Syaoran called. A water sting ray swooped down and caught Masayoshi and his Kudan from falling any further.

"What do you think you're doing Primera-chan?" Shougo called, appearing out of nowhere. I thought I heard Mokona's faint voice from atop the water Kudan. It sounded like she was saying 'Mekyo!' Could the feather be in Shougo-san's Kudan? No…there isn't a strong wave from it. But…it has to be in that area. I tapped my chin. Could it be, in Masayoshi's Kudan? I narrowed my eyes. _There is a certain power._

"What happened to your concert?"

"I-Shougo-kun won't play with me at all! The timing is good! Our meeting place is where my next concert is." she wailed, Fai helping her stand up.

"Also, why did you destroy our historic building?"

"Shougo! Don't act like you don't break things too!"

"What is she complaining about?" Kurogane crossed his arms. Primera's fan began to cry. "Now why are THEY crying?"

"Primera-chan likes him, but he doesn't pay any attention to her!" her fans cried.

"How do you all know this?" Fai asked politely. One of her *cough* desperate *cough* fans threw a magazine to us, tears streaming down his face. _These guys seriously need to get a life._

"She announced it!"

"I'm busy with school and chores, Primera-chan. I was in the middle of delivery. It was a lot better when Yumi-san was here. She kept you company and you kept complaining after she left."

"Really?" I asked, sort of believing it.

"S-Shougo!

"Syaoran! Everyone!" Mokona bounced up and down.

"Mokona, those eyes!" I was right. It is near, in someone's Kudan.

"The feather is close by! I felt a strong presence just now." She waved her arms around, ears flapping.

"It must be inside a Kudan." Fai said.

"But, what does it mean when the presence changes?" Kurogane shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Sorata-san told me a Kudan is made to protect someone. So its at its strongest when its protecting something."

"This means we have to fight it." Fai grinned. Shougo walked up and told Syaoran that he was a strong person in his heart and that's why he wanted to fight him.

"I accept." Syaoran stood, his flaming Kudan appearing before him. I took a step foreword.

"Syaoran-kun, even if you do fight him, what if the feather isn't there? We will have wasted time.

"That's true, but I have to find out. I will take as long as I need to, to find Sakura-hime's feather." He said with determination.

"That's nice that you think that. But time is of the essence. I can not afford to waste it." I mumbled turning away.

"READY! GO!" Water and Fire collided with each other right in the middle. A piece of rubble was falling right towards Syaoran. He used his right leg to break it with powerful force.

"So Yuuko was right about that… Canary-san if you don't mind." I asked my Kudan. The little bird chirped again as if replying. The same wings used in my battle with Primera were, again on my back. They flapped once, just making me float off the ground a little.

"Where are you going? It would be safer to stay put." Fai suggested.

"I'm going to get the feather."

"Hm? How's that?"

"Easy. It's not in Shougo-san's Kudan." My wings flapped harder shooting me up in the air. I heard Kurogane say 'Brat' and him and Fai started another conversation, but I was already out of earshot. I looked around for Masayoshi-kun to find that he was back on the roof. More explosions erupted and Masayoshi yelled to see if Syaoran was alright. I landed next to him. "Masayoshi-kun."

"Y-Yumi-san?"

"Bring out your Kudan."

"Huh? Why?"

"Please just do it." He nodded and shut his eyes. Soon enough it was right by him. 'Mekyo!' Mokona said again. "So it does have the feather." I heard a type of whooshing sound. Like something was flying at us, my wings reacted before my brain could. They propelled me in the air again, in time to see more debris from the fight heading at the roof. "Canary." I sternly said.

"Gomen Yumi-san that could have hit you." I heard my Kudan's voice from within me.

I sighed. "It's alright." Masayoshi screamed something, while Primera and Mokona were behind him. And his Kudan grew…a lot. I sweat-dropped. That might make things more complicated. It leaned down and picked up its master. Primera tried hitting it, telling him to let go. The Kudan opened its mouth wide and sucked in. He shot out a powerful beam that knocked the castle even more. Primera has blown off and she yelled. Shougo caught her in mid-air riding on the back of his sting ray.

I held both of my hands in the air, a purple sphere forming. I waited until it got big enough and launched it right at its stomach. The Kudan staggered but that wasn't enough to knock it over. _Damn_. It shot another beam at me. Yuuko's magic circle acted as my shield. My hands raised in front of myself, held the shield steady. _Dammit, the feather's power is really strong!_ _My shield is cracking! _"Eh?" Light penetrated it threatening to break it.

"Yumi-san!" Syaoran called. Fai flew up to me, grabbed me, and pushed me out of the way.

"What do you think your doing?" he asked clearly worried.

"I'm fine. My shield just wasn't at top power." My wings spread again but in the middle Fai stopped me.

"You're not doing anything anymore. You got hurt and now you've proved her point." I looked down at my hands seeing that there were cuts and they were bleeding.

"Great. Just what I needed." I sarcastically said.

"It's 'cause you're too reckless." Kurogane added.

"Excuse me?"

"You just went up there, not waiting for any of us to help you."

"I've never relied on others before, and I'm not going to start now." I retorted sharply. I decided to change the subject "Where's Syaoran-kun?" I asked now noticing that he wasn't here.

"Up there." Fai pointed. "He really is strong, in many ways. I understand why we each got certain Kudans."

"Stop it!" Masayoshi cried desperately trying to stop his own Kudan from destroying. "Syaoran-kun!"

"I need to get something, that's inside your Kudan." I heard Syaoran say. I couldn't hear the boy but I did see Syaoran punching the Kudan. He reached in further and further, I assumed trying to get the feather. He hesitated seeing Masayoshi in pain.

"It's okay! Get the feather!" he said.

Syaoran nodded and pressed on. His hand closed around the feather and pulled it out. As he did the Kudan shrunk back down to its original state. Shougo's Kudan helped put out the fire. Syaoran clutched the feather and held it close. "I got one…" he smiled.

* * *

"I found one of Sakura's feathers!" Syaoran exclaimed, as we came back to the apartments.

"Really?" Sorata smiled along with Arashi. He ran faster than we all walked so we lagged behind a little.

"He must be eager." I commented.

"Of course he would be. He did all of that for his princess." Fai said

"Sakura!" Syaoran smiled wide, I observed from a crack in the door to our room.

The princess did indeed open her eyes, but the next question surprised him. "Who are you?" she asked sleepily. Syaoran's eyes widened and he let go of her hand gently.

I was sure he was going to cry right there, but he held his tears back. "I'm Syaoran. And you're Sakura-hime." He tried to smile. "Please listen carefully. You are the princess of another world.

"Another…world?"

"Right now you are missing your memories, to get them back we need to travel to different worlds."

"Me alone?" I swear her voice was so soft I could barely hear.

"Iie. I'm with you. And four others are with us."

"You…are traveling with me?"

"Yes." _This must be so painful for Syaoran-kun…_

"And, you're doing this for a complete stranger?"

"Yes." Syaoran had so much sadness in his eyes, you could see tears beginning to rise.

"Sakura-hime, nice to meet you. I'm Fai D. Flourite." He decided now would be a good time to step in. He patted Syaoran on the shoulder, signaling he could go.

"I'm Yumi Ichihara." I pointed to Kurogane. "This is...Kuro-chan."

"KUROGANE!"

"Don't yell it's rude."

"Why you-"

"I'm Mokona Modoki! ~" she hoped off of Fai's head and went over to Sakura. She shook hands with Sakura, the princess smiling as well. I shifted to the door, when Sakura grabbed my hand.

"Please wait. What…was your name again?"

I bowed slightly and sat down. "Yumi Ichihara. It's a pleasure Sakura-san."

"Yumi-san…right? Can you please tell me more?" I nodded and filled her in on more of the details about our journey. I wondered why she didn't ask Fai or Kurogane, but having another girl around would make things easier for Sakura. I peeked around my shoulder seeing Syaoran, and all of our Kudan's around him. He was most definitely crying. "When I was sleeping, someone held my hand. It felt so warm." she held her own hand. I snapped my head back to her.

"Whoever was holding your hand cares for you deeply." Sakura nodded.

* * *

"Thanks for your help Masayoshi-kun." Syaoran was talking with him and we were back to the Okinmiyaki store.

"I was so happy that I could return the feather to you guys." he was tearing up.

"Don't think you're weak. If you don't have a strong Kudan that doesn't mean that you aren't strong. To be able to use all your might on someone else's behalf, that's a wonderful strength."

Masayoshi rubbed his eyes. "Thank you."

I took a small bite of my food watching Kurogane and Mokona wrestle over the food again.

"Yo. Let me sit with you guys." Shougo waved. Masayoshi scooted over to leave room. "How's your injury?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry for having to end our fight half-way through." Syaoran bowed. Fai elbowed me lightly.

"What do you want?"

"You should be a lot more careful you know. Using to much power can tire you out."

"How would you know? You gave 'all' of your powers to Yuuko-san."

"True, I still know. Which reminds me, Yuuko isn't your real mother is she?"

I swallowed hard and glared. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Back at the shop, she said that you will get back a memory of your mother for every feather we get Sakura."

"That it correct."

"That explains why you did that." Fai smiled. "I would also like to help you."

"Help me get back my lost memories? We only just met. You shouldn't trust me."

"But I do. You're to interesting to ignore." He flashed me a smile and got up and walked over to Kurogane and Mokona having a loud conversation. I sat in the booth silently, by myself thinking. _Help…Should I let him help?...No. I still can't trust him. I just have to work on my own mission here. Stop Fei Wong, find Sakura's memories and retrieve my own._ I sighed. "What other traps will 'he' throw?" I got up as well, following the three boys. Syaoran and Fai waved at Masayoshi and Shougo.

"I hope we meet again in the future." Syaoran bid good bye.

* * *

"So you're leaving?"

"Yeah." Syaoran bowed.

Leaving so soon? You never even got a chance to try my honey's cooking!" Syaoran handed Arashi back the wallet and Kurogane held a magazine in his hand he must have bought. Sakura walked slowly out of the apartment, wearing her princess clothes and Syaoran's cloak. We were all back in our original clothes.

"Are you alright?" Fai asked.

"Yeah, just a little sleepy." she rubbed her emerald eyes.

"Don't look down. If you have something you must do, then look forward." Kurogane said catching Syaoran.

"Yes." Syaoran said.

"Thank you for everything." Fai called.

"Don't worry about it. We hope you will find Sakura's feathers in the next world." Arashi said. Mokona spread her long white wings and sucked us up again. _So we have found her second feather. Two down, many more to go. _

_

* * *

_

**Kristin: Okay! Sorry this chapter was kind of late. Onee-chan said that school was pushing a lot of stuff on her for the last full week of school. She's still sick.**

**Mokona: Mekyo! She needs some of Watanuki's cooking~**

**Watanuki: Why am I always forced to do everything around here?**

**Kristin: Please review.**


	6. Mysterious New World

**Misty: School is finally over! I am so happy. No more work!**

**Watanuki: Easy for you to say. You aren't working for a selfish witch.**

**Yuuko: Who is a selfish witch?**

**Watanuki: *hids***

**Misty: Oh! Also I was thinking about who would be a good voice actor for Yumi if she was a real character. I think either Ayane or Yui Horie would be nice Japanese voice actors, and I'm not sure for the English…maybe Luci Christian…**

**Mokona: Enjoy~**

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* * *

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**Mysterious New World**

The landing was…unpleasant. All 5 of us landed hard on various boxes and crates. I really wished Mokona could land us more smoothly. The impact didn't hurt; it just wasn't the way you would want to land. "So where are we now?" I asked standing up.

"Everyone is looking at us! Mokona is the center of attention." She squealed.

"Who the hell are you?" A large man yelled, in front of other armed citizens. "Answer me! Where did you come from?" the man grabbed Sakura's arm, yanking her up. Syaoran (no surprise) kicked using his right leg, in the man's face. Kurogane, Fai and Mokona watched with amusement. The man fell back and skidded across the ground. _He must be pretty weak._ "You fool! Do you have any idea who you just kicked?"

"Stop!" A female voice shouted, atop a roof. "Don't mess around with people you don't know, you dumbass!" The girl had raven black hair tied back into a ponytail. She looks around the age of 10 or 11.

The man held his bleeding nose. "Chun-yang! You little-"

"How rude!" one of the mob members spoke, "He is the son of Ryanban-sama, the ruler of Koryo. It's amazing he used to be a homeless magician."

"You should know what will happen if you say something about the Ryanban!" Chun-yang clenched her teeth. "I will come back for revenge, so you better watch out!" he turned and walked away.

"Hyuu~ just a moment ago everyone was looking at us." Fai said.

"Hyuu?" I asked, not really caring.

"Since I can't whistle I say 'Hyuu' instead." I sighed_. It's not that hard to whistle._

"Syaoran-kun is amazing. That kick was incredible." Mokona jumped out of Kurogane's hands.

"Oh! I'm sorry. We knocked all of these over didn't we?" Syaoran picked up a crate or bruised oranges.

"Mokona will help too!"

"Kuro-pin, can you help us please?" Fai waved.

"What? Stop calling me that!" Kurogane shouted. I kneeled down and picked up some apples. After gathering an armful, I went over to Sakura and dropped them in another crate. She looked over at Syaoran, with a look of confusion. Sakura must be wondering why Syaoran would do that for a complete stranger.

"Those idiots, doing all sorts of evil stuff around the market." I heard Chun-yang mumble.

"When the Amenosa arrive, we will be saved." An elderly woman tried to comfort another woman.

"You look weird." The young girl bluntly said.

"Aha ha ha. She must be talking about Kuro-pyon over here." Fai pointed directly in Kurogane's face.

"If I'm weird then you are too!"

"Are you…come with me!" Chun'yang grabbed mine and Sakura's hand and began to run in the opposite direction. The princess rubbed her eyes, probably not getting what's going on.

After Chun-yang took us to her house, she stared at Syaoran and Sakura. They seemed nervous while my gaze just wandered around. Kurogane was reading a magazine with Ringo on the front. _When did he get that?_

"Excuse me, what is this place?" Syaoran asked.

"It's my house."

"Why did you run so fast earlier?"

"…Don't you people have something to say?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you?"

"We just arrived in this country and then we met you…"

"So you really have nothing to say?" she pressed on.

"No-Nothing at all."

"Thinking about it, I suppose there is no way that kids like you would be the Amenosa."

"Who are you calling a kid?" I muttered.

"Amenosa?" Sakura asked sleepily.

"The Amenosa are spies who work for the government. They investigate each region and its Ryanban. They check to see if they are indulging in their own personal interests or greed, they make sure the Ryanban don't oppress people either. They travel from place to place doing their job."

"It's Mito Koumon!" Mokona jumped up. "Yuuko-san likes first generation Mito Koumon the most." Syaoran looked over at me with a puzzled expression.

"It's a TV show that we used to watch back in Japan." I explained.

"T.V?"

"I'm Mokona!" she hopped closer to Chun-yang, who fell backwards.

"Uh…she's our mascot." Fai cut in. "So you thought that we were the 'Amenosa'. I'm Fai. This is Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, Yumi-chan, and Kuro-puu."

"KUROGANE!"

"So anyway," I began, "The ruler of this place is evil, therefore the people here are waiting for the Amenosa to show up and save them?"

"He's the worst! And he…my omoni (mother)…" My ears pricked up and the mention of her mother. I turned around, hearing the walls begin to shake.

"Is that the wind?"

"Don't go outside!" The window blew open, letting in powerful winds. It was like a tornado was hitting us. Syaoran held tightly onto Sakura. Fai grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him. After a while, the wind disappeared and so was most of the roof.

"That's wasn't normal wind." Fai said seriously.

"It's the Ryanban…He is the one…WHO IS DOING ALL OF THIS!" Chun-yang screamed at the sky.

* * *

_Pain. Why do I feel so much of it? I don't remember getting hurt... _

_8 year old Yumi slowly walked to her house. She was carrying flowers her friend had given her, she didn't look to happy. Yumi sighed in front of her two-story house and took a step inside. "I'm home…" she quietly said._

"_Yumi! Explain this grade!" her foster mother held up a test paper with the grade 60 on it. _

"_I-I'm sorry mother, I spent all night cleaning, I didn't have time to study…" _

"_That's no excuse you idiot!" her mother slapped her hard across the face. Yumi fell back dropping the flowers and holding back tears. "We adopted you and this is how you repay us?" she stomped on the flowers. "And don't bring dirt in this house you filthy child!" her foster mother kicked her hard in the stomach. Yumi coughed._

"_I'm so sorry mother! Please! I'm sorry!" she couldn't hold back tears anymore. "I'll do better!"..._

_

* * *

_

My eyes snapped open. I hadn't realized I fell asleep after the wind incident. I was in Chun-yang's room, where Sakura and I slept. My violet eyes scanned the room, to find both of them gone. _They must have left while I was asleep_. I pushed myself off the ground feeling a sharp pain in my stomach. "Ow. What is that?" I placed my hand on my stomach feeling more pain. I'm experiencing the pain from my past all over again. Oddly, it soon passed, as if it hadn't been there at all. I didn't heal it, so maybe it's temporary.

"Why do I have to fix someone else's house?" I heard Kurogane complain, while hammering on the roof.

"Because she offered us shelter for the night." Fai answered. I walked out to the main room where I saw Fai handing Kurogane planks of wood.

"It's amazing she lives alone." The ninja commented.

"She said her mother died." I said.

"Ah. Good morning, Yumi-chan." Fai smiled.

"Yumi-SAN!" I growled.

"Yumi-chan sounds cuter~"

"It's about time you woke up, brat. Hey how long are we staying here?"

"That depends on Mokona." Fai answered for me.

"Why does that white manjuu always side with that kid?" he hammered harder.

"Syaoran-kun, Mokona and Sakura-chan went outside with Chun-yang. I hope we get some information."

"But will it be okay? That princess is always sleepy or dizzy."

"Two feathers are not enough. In order to get back all of her memories, she will need more." I added. "She doesn't have memories of herself, that why she came without asking why. Even if all the feathers return-"

"The memories she had with Syaoran will never return." Fai sat down. "He will still look to find the feathers and go to different worlds, even with the knowledge of challenges ahead. Let's wait for the others to return while we fix the house."

"But. Why are you so relaxed and drinking tea?" Kurogane threw his hammer down. I ducked and it hit the wizard in the head. I didn't seem to hurt him at all.

"I thought this would be an easy job for blacky here." He took a sip of tea. I sat down and poured tea myself.

"You aren't going to help either are you?" Kurogane asked.

"Why can you not do a simple job like this by yourself?"

"Tch. I can just watch me you brat!" he began to work faster. I closed my eyes inhaling the tea's scent.

"Did something happen?" Fai asked out of the blue.

I blinked twice. "What do you mean?"

"You just seem…different. Are you okay?"

My grip on the cup tightened. "Stop pretending. Stop pretending that you care about me."

"I'm not pretending." Fai smiled and insisted.

"Even if something was wrong, I probably wouldn't tell you."

"So you're saying you don't trust me?"

"No. Considering I met you a few days ago, would you trust someone you just met?" Fai didn't answer; he just smiled and went back to drinking his tea.

* * *

"Welcome back! How was it…something happened didn't it?" Fai greeted, but changed the question when he saw Chun-yang's expression. Sakura and Syaoran were wearing new clothes, but I have no idea how they got them. Sakura tended to Syaoran's wounds while Chun-yang told us the whole story.

"Oh, so you got beaten by the Ryanban's wind again."

"But, after getting beaten up that bad, why don't you just beat up the Ryanban now?" Kurogane crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

"We tried to. Lots of times. But you can't land a finger on the Ryanban. The palace that the Ryanban lives in has secret spells that nobody can penetrate."

"There is a lot of that mysterious power, and Mokona can't figure out if any of it is from the feathers." Mokona said from Kurogane's lap.

"Could we take the son hostage or something?" Fai suggested with sparkles surrounding him. How can he suggest something like that so happily?

"No, the Ryanban uses a secret weapon to defend the place, if we did something to his son…" she shook her head. "Yesterday and today Syaoran-kun received attacks from the secret weapon. From what I've heard a year ago, the Ryanban suddenly got a lot of power."

"Does it have something to do with Sakura-chan's feather?" Fai wondered.

"It doesn't match, the feather's were just scattered recently right?" Kurogane said.

"Time passes differently in different dimensions." I told him.

"I'll go check." Syaoran stood.

"Wait!" Sakura held Syaoran's sleeve. "You're hurt though."

"I'm fine."

"But-"

"Don't worry. If the feather is really there, I will get it for you."

"Syaoran-kun…" Even _without her memories, Sakura-hime still cares about him_.

"Wait a bit. Don't worry I'm not going to stop you, but the Ryanban's secret powers are pretty strong so just going there isn't going to work. You at least need to break the spell to get inside."

"Can you do anything?"

"Nope not at all~" Fai waved.

"Let's ask Yuuko!" Mokona shouted and projected the dimensional witch in mid-air.

"Oh, Mokona what is it?" Yuuko asked.

"She spoke!" Chun-yang freaked out and hung onto Sakura who also looked shocked.

"Mokona is really useful." Fai laughed.

"Useful has its limits too!" Kurogane retorted.

"I see, so you want to break the spell and go into the palace." Yuuko smiled. "But you don't have to ask me, can't you use spells Fai?"

"I gave you the core of my powers."

"The tattoo I got is the 'core to keep in the powers.' The tattoo is not the source of your magical powers."

Fai kept the same smile on his face, or tried to. I see right through his charade. "But still, I have a rule to not use spells without it."

"Yumi-chan, couldn't you break through the barrier?"

"I don't think even my powers can match Sakura's feathers." I answered in a monotone voice.

"…Fine, I'll send something that can break the spell, but I must get something of value."

"How about this?" Fai picked up his crystal staff. "It's used for spells, but I wont need it."

"That will suffice. Give it to Mokona." Mokona opened her mouth wide and began to suck the staff in. She swallowed it whole and her eyes went wide. A baseball sized sphere flew out of Mokona's mouth and Syaoran caught it swiftly.

"This will break the barrier." He said.

"NOOO! I want to go to the Ryanban's palace too!" Chun-yang protested.

"The Ryanban's castle is under a spell, it will be very dangerous." Syaoran said.

"I know that. I want to come too!"

"Hm…" Fai smiled and turned to Kurogane and me.

"I'm no good with kids."

"Maybe it's your scary face." I added and brushed off my skirt. My outfit was similar to Sakura's. It had a dark blue color and instead of a petal skirt, it was wavy on the bottom. I saw Kurogane give me a look, but I just ignored it.

"Please let me come with you. I want to help defeat the Ryanban." The girl grabbed Syaoran's arms. "I want to avenge my omoni. We'll go together, it's fine, right Syaoran?"

He took Chun-yang's hands off his arms and said, "No. You will wait here with Sakura-hime." The girl backed up, her bangs covering her eyes. I felt bad, something I haven't felt for someone in a long time. I walked over to her and took her hands.

"Chun-yang, listen to me." she raised her head up to meet my eyes, "We don't want you to come because it would be dangerous. I don't think your…omoni would be happy if you got hurt, trying to avenge her." I let go and went to go catch up with the others.

"So all we have to do is defeat this Ryanban …" Kurogane smirked.

"And then, if the Ryanban really does have Sakura's feather…" Fai said.

"We will take it back." Syaoran finished.

We came upon the large castle owned by the Ryanban. It was a lot bigger up close and you could easily sense the magic surrounding it. "So this is it. Let's go then." Kurogane pushed the door open.

"You shouldn't just push the door open." Fai said.

"Huh?" After he opened the door it showed Koryo upside-down and the sky is where the ground should be. "It's amazing we're up in the sky!" Mokona sang.

"This castle is being protected by spells. Not just the entrance I suppose the inside is like this as well. That's why its time for the present the dimensional witch gave us to be used~" Fai smiled brightly.

"How are we supposed to use this?"

"You throw it." Mokona explained. "Throw it with all of your strength at the castle.

"But if I throw it away…" Syaoran began.

"It will be fine; it's the only way we can get inside." I urged. Syaoran threw the ball in the air and kicked it. The ball soared high in the air and seemed to melt on the shield. The shield was now visible and it began to crack. It soon broke and the illusion of the town was no longer there. All four of us stepped in and walked down a hallway. I wouldn't have minded walking if I knew this hall wasn't so FREAKING long! (**Author Note -I'm not sure if you noticed, but Yumi has little patience.)**

"We got in okay, but how long is this supposed to be?" I asked keeping the aggravated tone of my voice down.

"We don't know how much longer, we haven't seen any doors at all." Fai scouted the scene. "Are you getting tired, do you want me to carry you?"

"NO, YOU IDIOT!"

"We came back to the same spot." Syaoran said holding a small black stone.

"It does look like we are back at the same place." Kurogane said.

"But we have been walking straight down this hall without turning." Fai added.

"I dropped this stone at the entrance."

"Hyuu~ Syaoran-kun is smart."

"Damn. We're wasting our time waling around in circles like this."

"We are all tired, Kurogane-san." I sighed. "Stop complaining." I noticed Fai move his hand on the wall. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Was he looking for something?

"Is it here?" he asked himself.

"Did you find anything?" Syaoran asked.

"This kind of magic exists in places where the magical powers are the strongest." I gave Fai a skeptical look. He seemed to notice and he walked over to me. He smiled, grabbed my hand and dragged me to the wall.

"What are you-" he guided my wrist to the wall, the same spot he said he felt something. My hand unclenched and I felt an enormous magical power.

"Do you feel it too?" he said in a low voice. I nodded once, a strange feeling surging, being this close to him. I don't really know how to describe it though. **(Author Note- 0/-/0)**

"Perhaps the Ryanban is in there." Kurogane said.

"I'm not sure but you can feel a strong power in here as well can't you?" I retracted my hand from Fai and took a step back.

"Shouldn't you be unable to use magic?" Kurogane frowned.

"This isn't magic, it's more like intuition." Syaoran and I looked at Fai not believing it. I wonder if Syaoran-kun can see through his lies too. Kurogane punched the wall, it crumbling easily and falling to the floor. Behind the wall was a large room. It didn't have much in it though. A canopy hung from the high ceiling, covering someone.

"Who's there?" Syaoran called.

"You have finally arrived, you pesky worms." A female voice answered back.

_Who is she...? _

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**Misty: I'm still thinking about voice actors, I so wish that she was a real character. **

**Mokona: Please review mekyo~**


	7. Mirrors and Demons

**Misty: …**

**Kurogane: ….**

**Misty: …..**

**Kurogane: ….Grrr**

**Misty: ….*smirks.***

**Kurogane: *blinks.* GAH! Damn it!**

**Misty: Ha you lose! Do the disclaimers Kuro-pon~**

**Kurogane: *sighs* Misty does not own Tsubasa or any of its characters. She only owns Yumi and other OC's.**

**Misty: Was that so hard? Also for the penalty game, you have to wear these dog ears. *smiles evilly* **

**Kurogane: What the hell? Get away from me-**

**

* * *

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**Mirrors and Demons**

The woman standing before us was strangely dressed. She was wearing a long sleeved black dress and her nails…seemed to be abnormally long. Just as I sensed before, this woman has magical powers emitting from her. She just sat there watching us, almost as if she were studying us. "Who are you?" Kurogane finally said.

"After 100 years of history humans are still very similar to worms. Be careful how you use your mouth," she closed her eyes, "That is what I would like to say but, it's been a long time since I've had guests, so I'll tolerate it."

"Huh? What are you saying? Just spit out where the Ryanban is." Kurogane muttered, getting annoyed.

"Kuro-pin you are so impatient." Fai laughed.

"Kuro-pin is cute!" Mokona sang.

"Would you just shut up!" I hissed.

"Yumi-chi is getting aggravated too!" Mokona continued.

"Really cute children." The woman chuckled. Fai and Kurogane began to argue for no reason again. Syaoran must have been getting as impatient as I was. He walked up to the woman.

"We are seeking something that may be in this castle, so could you please tell me where the Ryanban is?"

The woman raised her hand to Syaoran's right eye, spacing two of her nails. "You have pleasant eyes…very bright," she put her hand back down. "But I'm afraid that I can't answer your question."

"Why? Are you working for the Ryanban?" I asked.

She chuckled again and then she turned to me. "You are a smart girl. You also seek something in this place, am I correct?" I didn't make a move or a sound. She must have figured I wouldn't have answered anyway. "I can not let you pass this place."

"Why not?" Fai cheerfully asked. "I get the impression that you will get rough with us so we can't pass, right?"

"Right." The floor beneath us disappeared and I found myself as well as the others standing on tall pillars. The ceiling seemed to vanish and the air was filled with violet bubbles floating lazily around. The woman was now under something that looked like a small shrine.

"An illusion?" Kurogane crossed his arms.

"No. It's a secret art. An illusion is made to puzzle people and looks nice but doesn't actually do anything. My secret art…," she flicked her wrist, sending one of the bubbles floating in the air directly at Syaoran. He tried to block it with his arms, it evaporating and melting his sleeve.

"It melted?"

"Inflicts real pain." The woman finished.

"So if we get badly hurt…" Fai began.

"You die." She raised her arms sending more of the bubbles. I jumped up, dodging a few. They were quick I had to admit, but I wasn't going to lose to something like this. I did a back flip and landed on a different pillar. One just narrowly passed my head and the ends of my hair became burnt. Realizing too late the pillar shrunk under me causing my foot to fall into the water. I cursed under my breath and jumped back up.

"You okay?" Fai asked. I nodded, using my shield to block another bubble.

"The pond water and the water spheres have the same destructive power. Of course not everything your eye sees is as it appears."

"So if I fall in, I'm gonna melt?" Kurogane said between his teeth. Fai hopped on top of a lamppost.

"Kuro-puu break this please." He called.

"Huh? Why?"

"How long can you both go unharmed?"

"Do it yourself." He muttered but broke the post anyway. It broke in three pieces, one for each of us.

"This way we can hit the spheres away without touching it." Fai explained. I decided to try it out as well as Kurogane. We both split them in half, the end of my stick beginning to crumble.

"Hyuu! Great job! Kuro-sama is so cool!"

"STOP MAKING THOSE STUPID WHISTLING SOUNDS!"

"There is no point in playing with water forever. Syaoran-kun, you and Mokona go ahead." I said.

"But you guys won't last long."

"Nothing will get done if we are trapped down here. You should go on ahead because you already injured yourself pretty badly. There are more important things to get done right Syaoran-kun?"

"It's okay Kuro-pi will take care of things here." Fai pat him on the back.

"Me again?"

"Thanks you guys." Syaoran gave a small bow.

"The magic is weaker up there." I pointed to the sky. "You should be able to kick your way out."

"It's so high can you get up there?" Mokona asked popping out of Syaoran's top. Wasn't she just with Kurogane?

"Stop playing hide and seek in peoples clothes!" Kurogane shouted.

"What are you children talking about? Don't let me get too bored."

"Sorry we will be done soon." _Why is he apologizing to her? If he hasn't noticed she is trying to kill us._

"I'm going." Syaoran jumped off of the pillar, landing on Kurogane's piece of the lamp post. He gripped the post and flung Syaoran up to the ceiling. As he was being propelled Syaoran stuck his leg out and kicked the ceiling causing it to break apart.

"Hyuu~ Syaoran-kun is awesome."

"Hm. One child escaped, huh? I guess it couldn't have been helped. Then I guess I will have to teach the remaining three children a lesson." the woman raised her arm using her magic to make the spheres burst. The liquid that was once inside is now raining down upon us.

"Looks like this is getting kind of serious." Fai smiled.

"Now you notice." I mumbled.

* * *

"This water hurts, quite a bit." Fai commented. After about five minutes the rain has continued falling, threatening to burn us to death. It might as well been acid rain.

"If we let it rain on us anymore, we will be in more trouble than before." I said.

"You will not escape like that first child did." She flicked her wrist sending another sphere at us. This one was a whole lot bigger than the others. It is going to be a lot harder to avoid. I decided to hit it with my own pole.

I swung and turned around to tell Kurogane and Fai to get out of the way, but I turned back around instantly seeing the bubble split apart, before my pole came in contact with it. "Eh?" Kurogane clenched his teeth and he swung, his pole hitting my stomach and forcing me to the next pillar.

I held my side and frowned. "What was that for?"

"If I didn't you would be burnt by now."

"I could have avoided it somehow."

"Is saying 'Thanks' to much for ya?" Kurogane smirked. Fai laughed and ruffled my hair, which made me want to punch him.

"Very clever, children. It has been a while…so I guess I won't be bored until this is over."

* * *

"…Fast movements, on top of changing shapes, and swelling and shrinking constantly. What a pain." Kurogane said out loud. I nodded, agreeing with him.

"The only person who was able to bear up to this was a Shinban from Ryonfi."

"That's Chun-yang's mother right?" Fai asked.

"She said she had a girl named that," the woman replied. "What this country truly needs is not that stupid Ryanban and his son, but people like that Shinban and you children. Right now I am not allowed to leave this place. I cannot reason, and my spirit has been manipulated like a puppet. My own heart doesn't tell me what is right or wrong."

"So you are being controlled?" I asked, noticing the woman forcing a nod.

"I regret us parting, little children. But soon it will be time to say farewell." The water below the pillars shot up, creating an enormous wave. The water spread out all around us about to drop any second.

"Wow. Now this is a dangerous crisis." Fai said.

"Well, if we just stand here and take it, we will die." Kurogane frowned.

"Well that is a huge problem, since I don't want to die." He said a huge smile.

"You don't want to die and yet you still won't use magic?" I gave him a look."

"Yup. Sorry."

"It doesn't matter to me." Kurogane looked back up at the waves. Fai's smile faltered for a second, but he tried his best to keep it.

"What about Kuro-mii?"

"I'm not going to die either, because I need to go back to Japan," he turned to me. "What about you brat?"

I glared at him. "It…doesn't matter if I die. I jut have to complete my mission…so I can't die just yet." They stayed silent for a moment before Kurogane spoke up again.

"That white manjuu won't leave until we find the princess's feather. So we'll have to quickly find the feather before we move on to the next world."

"I really don't want to stay in one place either."

"Why?"

"Because if the person sleeping underwater in my world awakens, then I might get caught. So I need to run to as many worlds as possible."

"Why are you running away? Doesn't Ashura take care of you?" I whispered. Fai's pale blue eyes clouded over for a few seconds.

"How do you know-"

"Are you done with your last conversation?" the woman asked.

"Ha ha. It feels like we are being driven to a corner."

"Hey." Kurogane said trying to get our attention. "I have an idea. Can you tell where the source of her power is?"

"Yes…It's the gem on her forehead." I said.

"Good, here is what you guys are going to do…"

"You already had your last little talk and I am not a very patient woman," she raised her hand again. "Good-bye."

Fai and I jumped up and aimed down towards the black-clad woman.

"Rushing to your deaths, children?" Kurogane appeared behind us propelling himself off of our backs ready to strike. "WHAT?" When Kurogane landed the woman was faster and she cut her nails right through his chest. Fai and I landed on a pillar that had been worn down near the small shrine. "You're quite a schemer." I heard her say as she pulled her nails out of his chest, revealing that she had cut through Kurogane's magazine.

"I hate rain so turn it off!" he swung and broke the jewel causing the room to return to normal. "If you do anything like that again…" the woman sat still and all of a sudden she stood up and gave Kurogane a kiss on the cheek. "What kind of trick did you do this time?" a vein popped from his forehead.

"That was my thanks. I was controlled by the Ryanban with the spell in that stone you just broke."

"Oh I get it that was what Kuro-pon just broke."

"Now I'm free thanks to you children. I'm sorry for blocking your way. You wanted to know where the Ryanban is, right? They are on the top floor of the castle. I guess the smallest child arrived there first, but I have a feeling the Ryanban is going to use some cowardly unfair trick again."

"How do we get there?" I asked.

"Out the door, there will be stairs to your left. The stairs will lead you too the top, be careful children." We all nodded and ran out the door. Sure enough the stairs were there, so she wasn't lying. These stairs were about as long as the times we walked in circles in the hall earlier.

"Yumi-chan…how did you know about the person sleeping underwater?" Fai asked, slowing down so Kurogane was farther in front of us.

"Hm? I know many things about you all. I like to know about people I travel with."

Fai's eyes clouded a bit again. "You…are so smart Yumi-chi~" he sang and hugged me.

"What the- Let go of me!"

"Are you guys done flirting? We are almost there." Kurogane said and opened the large door.

"Huh? Why are so many people here?" Fai wondered aloud.

"You three are so slow!" Mokona head-butted Kurogane.

"Sorry! We were busy." Fai laughed.

"Hand over the feather." Syaoran said. I took a notice that Sakura and Chun-yang are here too. I wonder how they got up here so fast. "That is Sakura-hime's feather. Hand it over." It looked like Syaoran had been through a lot lately, since his clothes were sort of ragged. It was probably mainly from the acid rain and bubbles.

"Wait! Wait a second!" A man, (I'm guessing the Ryanban) pleaded. "With this maybe we can bring back Chun-yang's mother! If-If I'm injured or dead then it can't be done. By using its strong power, her mother will definitely-"

"You killed her! You killed my omoni who was trying to protect the town! Omoni said it before, no matter what kind of power you use a life that is lost can't be restored. NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MISS HER, I CAN'T SEE HER ANYMORE!" she yelled and began to cry. I looked down at the floor, my bangs falling over my eyes. For some reason I felt strange…almost sad. Was it because Chun-yang and I are sort of alike? After all, I don't even know if my mother is dead or not, or if she even wants to see me.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO TRICK ME!"

"Chun-yang do you want revenge?" Syaoran asked. This made her jolt up. "It might help erase the pain, but this kind of person is not worthy enough for you to kill."

"For this kind of low-life…it would dirty my hands."

Syaoran nodded once and stepped forward. "No! Don't touch me! Don't…Don't come any closer."

"This is the end," a voice said as a hand covered his face, pressing its nails against the Ryanban's face. "How dare you imprison me in this castle," the witch said. "Give him to me. I will be sure to take good care of him."

"N-NO!"

"Looks like we can trust her after all." Fai said.

"STOP IT!"

"Don't worry. I will make sure you and your son receive the royal treatment," she said. A portal opened up behind them and she slowly started to drag the Ryanban in. "Are you Chun-yang?"

"That's right." she said.

"Your mother was a great Shinban. Although she passed away when she fell into the trap set by this Ryanban, she told me she had learned a lot from our battle. She's looking foreword to the day when you become a more powerful Shinban than she was. Be strong, strong enough to rival me."

"I will. I definitely will."

"Well then…good-bye, dear children." The Ryanban tried desperately to reach the feather before he was pulled into the portal completely. The glass that once held the feather broke in Syaoran's hands. He walked back over to Sakura and let the feather float back to its original owner.

"Why? Nobody…was there…" Sakura said after a moment and began to fall back. Syaoran held out his arm and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Another feather has been retrieved."

* * *

"Thank you for getting rid of the Ryanban." Chun-yang smiled and thanked us. We were getting ready to move on to the next dimension, and we were back in our original clothes.

"I didn't do anything." Syaoran held up his hands.

"If you hadn't broken the spell that was placed on the castle, we wouldn't have been able to go near him. It's all because of you guys."

"No, I really didn't…"

"We have you to thank too. The medicine you gave us worked really well." Fai exclaimed.

"Those medicines were made by my omoni. I don't know how to make them yet but I'll work hard. I will become a powerful Shinban who will not let my omoni down."

"Of course you will." Sakura grasped Chun-yang's hands. "Absolutely."

Chun-yang turned to me and grasped my hands too. "Yumi-san, I hope you find your mother soon." My eyes widened. "Don't worry, earlier today I saw the spirit of my omoni and she said that you lost you mother. So you and I are sort of alike."

My bangs covered my eyes once more. I didn't know what to say to that. I gave the girl a small smile and nodded. "Right." Mokona spread her wings out and flew into the air.

"It's time to go." Fai said.

"What?" Chun-yang pointed at Mokona. "Where are you going?" Mokona opened her mouth wide, and began to suck us in. "Where are you going?" Chun-yang repeated.

"There are things we have to do." Syaoran answered. "Take care." Mokona swallowed and we were off to the next world.

_Chun-yang the only difference between us is that your heart is pure while mine is filled with darkness and hatred. The witch was right, stay strong._

_

* * *

_

**Misty: Come on Kurogane! You lost which means you have to wear this.**

**Kurogane: I am not-**

**Misty: *pounces.***

**Kurogane: GAH! What do you think you are doing?**

**3 minutes later…**

**Misty: Ta da~ You look so adorable!**

**Kurogane: I look like an idiot. Where the hell did you get dog ears like this?**

**Misty: From Fai.**

**Fai: *laughs.***

**Kurogane: GET BACK HERE!**

**Misty: Please review~**


	8. Country of Fairytale

**Misty: Sorry I decided to skip the country with the lake. The reason for that is nothing really happens there…I just skipped to Jade.**

**Yumi: Are you sure you just aren't lazy?**

**Misty: …On with the story. **

**

* * *

**

**Country of Fairytales**

"Ahaha. We really stand out don't we?" Fai joked. We had landed in a snowy country and ended up at a tavern of sorts. Ever since we walked in, people have been giving us strange looks.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." I said.

"Our clothes are the major problem." Syaoran explained.

"It's very different from the people of this country." Fai commented. I noticed Kurogane trying to tear a steak apart, into small enough pieces to eat. His mouth is big enough; he doesn't have to cut it. "Especially Kuro-tan's look," he pointed.

"What's your problem?" he glared.

"If this going to be alright? The meal, I mean." Syaoran leaned over the table to ask. "We don't have any currency from this country!" Mokona used her vacuum power to inhale Kurogane's steak. By the looks of it, he wasn't too happy about it.

"That's okay, isn't that right Sakura-chan?" Fai smiled, turning to Sakura.

"Eh?" she seemed completely oblivious to our conversation. Apparently, Fai got Sakura-hime involved into a card game similar to poker. It looked the same, except for the pictures on the playing cards.

"Alright, little lady show your cards," the dealer said.

"Um, they came out looking like this," she hesitated in putting the cards down. They were a straight flush of crowns, which I'm guessing is equivalent to aces in my world.

"I can't believe you won every single time! What's going on?" one of the other players exclaimed, "Are you cheating?" Sakura was getting nervous again.

"We didn't have time to cheat." I calmly retorted. Fai began to push our winnings into a bag.

"If you aren't happy about it, please talk to the man in black over there." Fai pointed back over to our table.

"What?" Kurogane turned back around and gave everyone a leave-me-alone-or-I'll-kill-you-glare.

"N-No nothing! Sorry for suspecting you!" the townspeople backed away.

"Nice work Sakura-chan. The most important thing right now is money and we now have a ton of it." Fai held out his hand and directed Sakura back to her seat. I took a step to follow them as well, when I felt somebody sling their arm over my shoulder.

"Hello there. What's a pretty girl like you doing here?" a man asked, _I bet he is drunk. _Maybe it was just me, but the tavern got really quiet.

"None of your business." I spat angrily. _How dare he touch me._ I will be sure to make him pay. "Now move."

"Don't be like that. How about we-" He couldn't finish his sentence, when I was pulled behind someone.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't hit on her like that." Fai smiled pushing me further behind him. "She is mine."

"Fai-san?" I frowned. _Since when am I his? _I could see the man advance towards us, when Fai's hand shot out and grabbed him by his collar.

"I said to leave her alone didn't I?" his voice grew darker but he kept the smile on his face, which surprised me a little. He let go and the man had an angry expression.

"You don't tell me what to do." the man's hand curled into a fist as if he was getting ready to punch. I ran out in front of Fai and kicked the guy right in the stomach sending him flying out the door. I heard a soft thud as he landed flat on his back. I expected everyone in the tavern to be mad at me for causing such a scene, but instead some people started to clap. Mainly all of the woman and some men.

"Thank goodness, it's about time someone taught that man a lesson," a woman said. "He comes here every night to get drunk and flirt with everyone."

"We are grateful to you for standing up to him. Maybe now he won't come back," one waitress flashed me a smile. I gave a small bow and gave her a very small smile in return. Fai and I made our way back over to the table where Mokona, Syaoran, Sakura and Kurogane sat. We sat down in our seats and Sakura asked me if I was alright. I nodded and took a long sip of water.

"Well that was some show," a waiter came over to our table. "You did a nice job, none of us here are able to kick him out. You are lucky to have a protective fiancée," he grinned. This sentence snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Fiancée? I AM NOT HIS-" Fai covered my mouth with his hand.

"Yes, thank you," he replied quickly.

"You are a pretty good card player," the waiter was talking to Sakura now.

"I don't even know the rules of the game, did I do okay?" she asked.

"Ha ha, what a funny girl."

"I wasn't joking actually." Sakura said.

"Your clothes are strange. Are you tourists?"

"Yes, we are looking for something. That's why we are traveling around." Syaoran said.

"Have you decided where to go next?" the man asked, handing a cup to Syaoran.

"No, not yet."

"Well, I'll give you some advice. Do not go north."

"Why not?" I asked

"There is a terrifying legend in the Northern Country."

"What kind of legend?" Syaoran asked, now completely interested.

"Long ago, there was a castle in the Northern Country. There lived a beautiful princess with golden hair. One day, a bird flew down to the princess's side. It gave her a shiny feather and said, 'There is a strong magic within this feather. It will give you mysterious powers.' The princess took the feather and after that the King and Queen suddenly died. Soon, the princess became ruler of the castle. And then, as though attracted by the feather, children living outside the castle started disappearing one by one. They never returned." I closed my eyes. It felt like he was telling us this story just to scare us. Maybe he was telling us this, to make sure we do go…

"Is this a fairytale?" Fai asked, causing me to open my eyes.

"No it's a true story."

"Then there is indeed, a castle like that in the Northern Country?" Syaoran questioned.

"This is a story passed down for 300 years. The castle would be in ruins now."

"Well, because of this…," I searched for the right word, "…terrifying legend we shouldn't go to the Northern Country?"

"No," the man said. "Just like in the legend, children started disappearing again."

* * *

"A shiny feather that brings power…that sounds like one of Sakura-chan's feather to me." Fai grinned, adjusting his hat. Using the money Sakura won from the earlier game, we used it to buy new clothes and rent some horses. The dress I am wearing is mainly a dark blue with light blue frills on the hem of the skirt. Sakura and I had used the extra money to buy cloaks, for if it gets to cold. Sakura's is a pale pink while mine is just plain white. I left my hood down and stared out across the road we were going to take. Fai mounted his horse and looked down at me. I swear I hate being short. I'm 16 and I'm about the same height, if not taller, than Sakura. "What's the matter Yumi-chan?"

"I'm not riding with you. I'd rather walk." I answered. I'm not sure why, but this statement made Fai smile and get back off. He moved towards me and placed both of his hands on my waist. "Let go of me you idiot!" He picked me up with ease and placed me on the horse. Fai got on behind me and grabbed the reins.

Mokona jumped over from Sakura and Syaoran to my shoulder. "Mokona can't sense any strong powers."

"But that doesn't mean there are no feathers here." Fai said. "Maybe something unexpected happened."

"It may just be an old legend. It also may be like the feather from Chun-yang's country." Kurogane mounted his horse. "So are we going?"

"Of course." Syaoran answered with determination in his eyes. "To the Northern Country."

* * *

"Ahh, the wind feels so good. The tree branches are curved at just the right angle." Fai laughed, looking up into the dreary gray sky. "It-"

"I don't care about that. I'm getting cold." Kurogane cut him off.

"Looks like it's going to snow. Are you cold?" he asked.

"No," I tried to contain my shivering. "I'm fine." I hated the cold and I was starting to dislike this country, mainly because it reminded me of my home country. Fai wrapped his arms around me.

"Don't worry Yumi-chan. I'll keep you from freezing~ everything is better with a hug," he said gleefully.

This shocked me for a second, but I quickly recovered. "Stop it you moron! Do you like to bug me?"

"I will admit it is fun." Fai joked. "And you even blushed how cute!"

"I DID NOT!" I retorted, facing the other way. I placed a hand to my cheek, feeling a slight blush. I growled and rubbed at it, as if it would come off. _Jerk._

"I'm okay as well. These clothes are very warm." I heard Sakura say all of a sudden. She must have been talking to Syaoran.

"That's right Sakura-chan is from a desert country right?" Fai said.

"Yes, but it is very cold in the desert at night," she added.

"How about Kuro-run here?"

A vein popped on his forehead. "The country of Japan has four seasons, cold during the winter and hot during the summer."

"That's a lot like my country." I added.

"That must be nice." Sakura said.

"How about where Fai comes from?" Mokona asked.

"It's very cold there as well. It gets colder there than it is here right now."

"What about Syaoran-kun?" Sakura wondered.

"I went to many different countries with my dad."

"So you have been to both hot and cold countries," she gave him a smile.

"Look over there!" Mokona cried and pointed at an upcoming sign. "What do you think it says?"

"It says 'Spirit.'" Syaoran and I said together.

"I think that's how you say it. If it's the same pronunciation my dad taught me." Syaoran added.

"You can actually read it, that's amazing you two." Sakura beamed.

"Hey, this is no time to be joking around." Kurogane muttered. In the distance, we were able to see some of the town's houses. I saw some citizens look out their windows, wide-eyed. All 6 of us over looked the town. I heard some faint cawing from crows flying around, making this town of 'Spirit' seem more ominous.

* * *

"It almost seems like, we aren't welcome here." Fai said, as windows and doors slammed shut as we rode past.

Syaoran and Sakura rode up to a little girl with dark hair in pig tails, holding a stuffed cat. "Hello," he began, "I want to ask you something about this town…" he was cut off, by a door swinging open.

"Didn't I tell you not to go out?" a woman said, and dragged the little girl inside the house.

"Guess this has to do with what we heard in the bar. If we can't talk to anyone we wont be able to confirm whether the legend is true or not." Fai smiled but sighed at the same time.

"I wish they would at least tell us where the golden-haired princess is." Syaoran said. The sound of footsteps began to grow louder and louder as they approached us. Several guns were now being pointed at us, for no reason. My eyes widened as my vision began to blur and the figures in front of me began to change. The clothes, the people, the scenery began to change. Instead I saw me…a long time ago, and a few men standing over me, sneering. One of them held up a gun to the younger me's face. He said something inaudible so I couldn't hear it. A gunshot sounded right before my vision turned back to normal, back to the men who were pointing guns at all of us. Fai placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a look of concern. I took me a while to realize I had been shivering more than before.

"Who are you?" one of the mob leaders yelled.

"We are traveling around the world to investigate old legends and architectures." Syaoran came up with a fake explanation.

"What are you investigating for?"

"We are writing a book," he stated bluntly.

"A book?"

"Yes."

"A kid like you?"

"No, it's his book," he gestured towards Fai.

"That's right. This is my cousin," he pointed to Sakura, "This boy is my assistant," he pointed to Syaoran, "This one here is my servant," he gestured to Kurogane.

"Who's the servant-" he began to ask, but then just randomly yelped out of no where.

"Who is that?" one of the town's people looked at me.

"She's my fian-" Fai began, but I knew what he was going to say.

"I'M HIS SISTER!" I cut him off and shot him a glare.

"Stop!" another voice sounded.

"Doctor!"

"How dare you point your rifles at these innocent travelers!" The one they called 'Doctor' shouted and ran in front of us protectively. He had dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and glasses.

"But…at a time like this, these foreigners…"

"Precisely, because they came from a different land we should not be impolite," he turned to us. "I apologize for this rudeness, travelers. Welcome to Spirit."

"My name is Kyle Rondart. I am the doctor of this village," 'Kyle' welcomed us into his home and was bringing out some tea. Sakura and I were sitting on the couch, but even far away I still didn't get a good aura from this guy. It might be best to not leave Sakura alone with him.

* * *

"Thanks for letting us stay here."

"Please don't mention it. This place used to be an inn, so there are plenty of vacant rooms."

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS DOCTOR? BRINGING OUTSIDERS HERE AT A TIME LIKE THIS?" the door burst open revealing two older men.

"Please calm down Mr. Grosam," the eldest man said.

"How can I be calm, Mr. Mayor? We still haven't found the missing children yet." Mr. Grosam retorted.

"That's why I invited these travelers in. These people are doing research on legends around the world. They might be able to help us out during this occurrence." Kyle said.

"These vagabonds that came out of nowhere? What do they know?" Mr. Grosam continued using his 'loud' voice. We were indoors he could stop yelling anytime now.

"They know things that are unknown to the people living here."

"If anything happens again, it will be too late by then," he glared and took off out the door."

"Mr. Grosam! Anyway please ask these people to leave by morning," the mayor ran after him.

"Excuse me for not introducing them to you," the doctor closed the door. "They are the mayor of this town and Mr. Grosam. Mr. Grosam is the owner of much of the land here. Looks like we have come troubling you at a bad time."

"We have heard of the legend of 'Spirit' in a previous town," Syaoran interjected.

"I used to believe it was just an ordinary legend as well. Who would have thought that the children really started vanishing. We looked all over the place, but we couldn't find any of them. 20 children are missing now."

"How can that be…?" Sakura wondered with a sad expression.

"No wonder they were on guard when they saw us." Kurogane said.

"But what would travelers like us, have anything to do with children that have been missing a while before we got here?" I asked.

"I don't know but just as what I had said to Mr. Grosam earlier, even if it's just a small clue, if any of you have any clue at all, please tell me."

* * *

"We have a place to stay after all." Fai said, holding a lamp. "You are pretty good at making stuff up, Syaoran-kun."

"My dad and I used that excuse a lot when we were traveling."

"Things really do seem to be getting serious," he looked out the window to see many of the townspeople where searching high and low for the lost children. "The legend becomes reality. Though we don't know if it has anything to do with the golden haired princess or not, anyway it's already very late." Sakura fell backwards and Syaoran caught her immediately.

"Ah, so everyone is here?" Kyle came up the stairs.

"Y-Yes we are fine." Syaoran answered.

"I have prepared rooms for all of you. Um…Sakura-san's room, Kurogane-san's room, Syaoran-san's room…are all set up. I figure you two would want to share a room," he asked Fai and me.

"What? Why?" I growled. _I am_ _not sharing a room with the likes of him. _

"Since you are brother and sister, I just thought that was the case. Yumi-san, you can have your own room if you want-"

"No, it's fine we will share a room, right, sister?" Fai smiled and pulled me closer to him. "She is afraid to sleep in a room by herself."

"R-Right…nii-san…" _That's humiliating to say!_ _But they might think it's weird that a sister dislikes her brother so much._ "I guess I have no choice." I mumbled.

"Okay, good. If you need anything just ask. Good night." Kyle waved and went back downstairs.

"Great, I have to share a room with you." I said, sarcastically.

"Come on, Yumi-chan it won't be that bad. Everyone, it's time to go to sleep." Syaoran nodded and helped Sakura-hime into her own room, before going into his. Kurogane just went straight to his room, without Mokona. I opened the door to our room. It was nice and pretty big too. It had pretty much what any normal bedroom would have. Thankfully, it had two beds near the opposite walls. I would leave instantly if there was only one. Fai walked over to the window first. "Wow, it's snowing."

"Yeah, I guess," I went to the window as well, seeing the glass fog up, it was hard to see anything outside. "Didn't you say this was like your home country, Celes?" I asked still looking out the window.

"Eh?" I could actually hear the smile vanish from his face.

I smirked, "Or…was it Val-" Fai grabbed my wrists and pinned them firmly against the wall. My smirk disappeared.

"You…really are annoying," I heard him say. "When we first came on this journey, you already knew my name, who I am running from and you even know my real home country without me having to say it. I bet you know everything about Sakura, Syaoran, and Kurogane don't you?" his bangs covered his face, so I couldn't see his eyes.

"So what if I do?" I looked to the side, wishing that I wasn't such an idiot. "On this journey I prefer to know a little about everyone."

It was his turn to smirk now. "You can see right through me can't you?" he tilted my chin up to see his blue eyes, piercing through my violet ones. It feels like I'm paralyzed, just looking into his eyes. "I've figured you out as well, Yumi Ichihara. Just like you, I have a mission to complete. Since you know so much already, you must know what it is." I nodded slowly. Fai let go of my chin and brushed my hair from my ear. He leaned closer and whispered, "I won't let you get in my way," his lips brushed lightly against my ear, making me shiver.

All of a sudden, he let go and moved back, with his signature smile. "Just kidding~" he sang. "It's getting late, we should go to bed soon," he sat down on his bed.

"Whatever." I went over to my own bed and sat down. "Hey, Fai…you're already asleep?" I practically yelled. Amazing he fell asleep so fast. _But...what he just said... 'I won't let you get in my way.' _ His words repeated in my mind. That seemed way out of character for a person who smiles all the time. "Hmph. I don't need to think about this idiot right now." I lay down, not really caring I was still in my dress, and closed my eyes.

* * *

"_Hey, okaa-san what song is that?" Yumi asked._

"_This is a song called 'Spica.' Remember we wrote it together," her mother replied with a small chuckle. _

"_It's a beautiful song, can you sing to it?"_

"_Of course, when I was around your age, my best friend and I used to sing together all the time. Although she was embarrassed, it was so cute," her mother laughed._

"_Can you sing some for me?" Yumi asked, climbing onto the piano seat._

"_Only if you promise to sing some with me."_

"_Of course!"_

_

* * *

_

"The town is covered in snow." Fai said looking through the window over Syaoran's head.

"It got very cold last night." Kurogane added also looking over Syaoran.

"What do you expect? It started snowing right before we all went to our rooms." I said.

"Sakura-chan is the princess of a desert country. Maybe it's the first time she has seen snow." Fai thought. "Morning Sakura-chan," he greeted as the door to her room swung open.

"Good morning." Syaoran bowed.

"…Good morning," she replied, with Mokona in her arms.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, noting the tone of her voice.

"Last night…in the snow, I saw-"

"MY CHILD!" she was cut off by a scream from a woman outside. "My child is gone!" the woman ran up to one of the men, pointing guns at us the other day, holding a stuffed cat. _Wait...didn't we see a little girl with a cat like that yesterday._ I saw Syaoran take notice of it too. We all ran outside into the snow, to see what had happened. "I remember locking the door!"

"Has the lock been forced open?" a man asked.

"It was opened from the inside! I told her not to open the door, she shouldn't have opened it!" the woman cried.

"So it's true about the golden haired princess…"

"That wasn't a dream then?" Sakura's hands flew up to her mouth.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" the man yelled. Syaoran stood in front of Sakura, protectively.

"…Last night, in the snow, I saw a woman wearing a white dress. She walked by, with black birds flying around her," she answered.

"So it IS the golden haired princess!"

"It's the princess from the Northern Castle!"

"It's the princess's curse!" random townspeople shouted out at once.

"That's enough!" Mr. Grosam shouted above the noise. It looked like he was shooting a death glare at all five of us at the same time.

"Is another child missing?" Kyle came running up. "I swear, these people didn't leave the house last night! For the convenience of emergency patients, my room is situated beside the entrance. I would know if anyone went out at night." Kyle and Mr. Grosam just stood there staring at each other for a few minutes when the mayor finally broke the silence.

"It's no use if we stay here, lets look for the missing child," he ushered the people away. A man shot us one last glare before leaving.

"Ha ha, everyone is staring at us." Fai laughed.

"That's because they are suspecting us." Kurogane growled.

"Come on, let's go back. Breakfast is ready." Kyle began to lead us back to the house.

"Is that alright? Kuro-pii has a very unique way of using a fork and a knife."

"SHUT UP! You can't even use chopsticks."

"I've never seen anyone cut a steak using a spoon." I said.

"SHUT IT!"

* * *

"What? You saw the golden haired princess?" Dr. Kyle asked in surprise.

"I'm sorry, if only I had gone out to look." Sakura looked down at the table.

"You thought you were dreaming then. Seeing a woman dressed in white walking around in the snow, of course no one would think it's real."

"But the villagers don't think that way~" Fai sang.

"To the people of 'Spirit' the legend is real."

"You mean its historical fact?" Syaoran questioned.

"In the book on the history of the country of Jade, there is a following record, '300 years ago there was a princess named Emeraude. One day her parents passed away suddenly. Then, the children living outside of the castle walls started to vanish one by one.'"

"Does it say anything about what became of the children?"

"'As though they were dead, no one has returned ever since.'" He continued.

"So, it can be interpreted that no one came back alive." Kurogane concluded.

"The castle is now in ruin. But what happened now is too similar to what the history books said. It's no surprise that the villagers believe that the legend is reliving itself again."

"Do you think it's 'too' similar?" I asked.

"What?"

"Do you think that what is causing the children to disappear is the same as it was 300 years ago?"

"W-Well yes, I don't see any other way." I could have sworn I just saw him twitch the slightest amount.

"Did any other villagers see the golden haired princess?" Syaoran asked.

"There is no one. Sakura-san, you are the only one who has seen the princess. Mr. Grosam will start saying things again."

"So Sakura-chan is the first and only witness." Fai mused.

"May I have a look at the history book?" Syaoran requested.

* * *

"Is it for hobby that you want to read about this country's history?" Fai asked as we were walking through the snow.

"That too, but I just want to confirm something. This should be the place where the mayor is," he said, as we came upon a large house.

"Although Mr. Grosam has the book as well, he doesn't look like the type to willingly give it to us." Fai joked and pulled on the rope leading to a doorbell.

"Yes, coming," a quiet voice said. An older maid opened the door slightly, but opened it a little more, when she saw us.

"Excuse me; we were wondering if the mayor is home."

"You are the ones at Dr. Kyle's place," the mayor said walking up to us.

"Yes, we have some questions," Fai said.

* * *

"Twenty-one children missing," the doctor rested his head in his hands.

"There aren't any clues at all?" Syaoran asked, sympathetically.

"Nothing, this time as well. Several years ago, the weather became very unstable. Our harvest isn't as good as before. Not only that, the children are disappearing even though the adults have warned them. Just like the legend 300 years ago."

"When did the children start disappearing?"

"About two months ago. A child went to pick some berries and didn't return. And then its either one gone missing or three children had gone missing at the same time. The adults already warned them many times not to go out with strangers after dark. But there is nothing strange at all. The children just vanished into thin air. This is the book about this country's history. It has recorded the legend of princess Emeraude in detail. I've read it many times, but I couldn't find any clues about the present situation. After you are finished with the book, please leave town immediately, before the inevitable happens," he handed Syaoran the book.

"Thank you, but there are things we need to do."

* * *

Syaoran flipped through Jade's history book, never taking his eyes off of it. He never did at all. Syaoran was very good at maneuvering through branches on his horse. I don't know why, but I keep expecting a branch to just knock him over. Since he was busy reading Sakura was riding with Kurogane and Mokona.

"Hyuu, you don't even have to look forward." Fai whistled.

"Don't move around in someone else's clothes!" Kurogane yelled.

"Kuro-puu looks bored so I decided to cheer him up!" Mokona said, cheerfully.

"It's over there." Syaoran pointed into the distance. "This is the castle of Northern Country."

"The castle certainly is like we have heard. I thought it would have decayed more, though." I said, more to myself.

"How do we get across?" There was a river rushing across but no bridge that linked the land to the castle.

"Kurogane-san, could you get across?" Sakura asked.

"Not if I'm bringing kids like you."

Syaoran checked back with the book. "Looks like the river was already there, 300 years ago."

"I wonder how they entered the castle in the past." Fai said, looking up at the castle.

"I think there used to be a bridge. I can't think of any other way to cross."

"So it's not possible to bring children into the castle."

Mokona sighed. "No clue at all. I can't sense any strong power either." After looking at the castle for a while, we finally decided to make our way back to Spirit. "Can you, Yumi-chan?"

I nodded. "It's faint, but its there. The power is strongest near the castle, but it could be anywhere around it too."

"No clue to where Sakura-chan's feather might be, huh?" Fai said. "Look. It's Mr. Grosam."

"What he doing here?" Kurogane asked. Mr. Grosam was riding on his own horse, and it looks like he was heading to the castle too.

"There isn't anything over there, except the castle." Fai commented.

As we rode back into Spirit, I noticed that many of the villagers looked tired and were resting. They must have still been looking for the lost girl.

"Still haven't found her yet?" Sakura wondered.

In front of Dr. Kyle's house a crying girl was standing there with her mother. The girl had long hair and was holding a stuffed rabbit. "Take care," They both bowed and made their way home.

"Visiting patients?" Syaoran asked, getting off of the horse.

"Yes, that child is a good friend of the other child that went missing. She got quite a shock. Did you borrow the book?"

"Yes. I got it from the mayor."

"Whether its witnessing the princess or something else, please tell me all that you have learned. Hopefully we will be able to find the children soon."

* * *

"Sakura-chan?" I knocked on the door to her room. I didn't hear a reply, but maybe she said come in. She has a soft voice, sometimes she has to speak up. I went in anyway.

"Yumi-san? What are you doing here?" she smiled.

"Is it okay if I room with you tonight? I don't want to go back to my other room."

"Of course you can, but may I ask why?"

"Two reasons, One is I want to make sure you are careful. Two is I hate rooming with Fai." I lowered my voice telling her the last part.

Sakura laughed nervously. "I thought you two got along fine." I blinked at her. I blinked again just to take in what she had said.

"Well, I can assure I absolutely hate him." I crossed my arms and walked over to the other bed. "Promise me that if you see anything tell me first, even if I am asleep. Got it?"

"Right. I will try not to worry you." Sakura smiled. I climbed into the other bed and turned to face Sakura, she was staring out the window. _She must want to catch the golden haired princess again._ I closed my eyes, to make it look like I was sleeping. After a few minutes I heard Sakura gasp. My eyes snapped open, to see Sakura already leaning out the window. "The golden haired princess! The children are being taken away!" she leaned further out the window. "I'm sure Yumi-san, wouldn't mind, if I did wake her, I might lose the children," she mumbled softly to herself. Sakura climbed out of the window and down using the tree.

I sighed and jumped out of bed. "Sakura-san, you shouldn't have gone by yourself." I climbed down and landed neatly in the snow. I ran in the same direction Sakura had taken, but her tracks were being cleared up by the snow pretty quickly. I can imagine if she was following the princess, she must have gone to the castle. When I got there, I saw Sakura lying down near a tree. "Sakura-san!" I dashed over to her. "Are you alright? Wake up!" I heaved another sigh. _She had to pass out here, of all places?"_ I felt the presence of someone behind me, coming up fast. My head snapped back to see the one person I have a feeling was responsible for all of this. "You're-" something hard struck me across, the back of my head, causing everything to turn black.

_Normal POV _

The man stood over Yumi and sneered. "Fei Wong was right, you are a nuisance," he grumbled. The man took a small bottle from his pocket and unscrewed the cap. "You won't be moving anytime soon." he tipped the bottle slightly causing the liquid inside to fall out. The liquid slipped into Yumi's mouth, and she swallowed unconsciously. The man laughed. "You're not as tough as I thought you were a pity. See you around soon," he smirked and left.

* * *

**Misty: Who was that strange man? C'mon Yumi-chan you are better than that!**

**Yumi: Oh, I will be fine soon, when that potion wears off and I will kick that guy's ass.**

**Fai: How improper for a lady.**

**Yumi: Shut up!**

**Sakura: Please don't fight you guys!**

**Syaoran: *scratches back of head* Please review.**


	9. Author Note

**Author Note**

**Misty: Hello, everyone. First I'd like to thank you all for reading so far, adding it to your favorites, and story alerts. I know that I haven't updated in a while and I apologize for that. **

**Mokona: We just wanted to say, please don't think Misty is abandoning this story. She is not I repeat SHE IS NOT! ~mekyo.**

**Misty: I am still going to continue this story, I was having a little writers block but I will have the next chapter up soon! I promise that. Thanks again, see you all in the next chapter!**


	10. The Golden Haired Princess

**Misty: I am so so so so very sorry that this chapter is so late. It's been like a month hasn't it? Again I'm sorry. Here is chapter 9, Enjoy.**

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* * *

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**The Golden Haired Princess**

_ Ugh. Whoever hit me...they are going to pay._ _Nobody messes with me and gets away with it. _Groggily, my eyes opened up to the light gray sky. Amazingly it finally stopped snowing. _I wonder how long I have been out cold. I need to find Sakura... _I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, I tried moving my arms, trying to get up, but I couldn't move them either. My whole body felt numb. For a second I wondered if it was because I was passed out in the snow all night. Then a vague memory hit me.

_The man took a small bottle from his pocket and unscrewed the cap. "You won't be moving anytime soon." he tipped the bottle slightly causing the liquid inside to fall out. The liquid slipped into Yumi's mouth, and she swallowed unconsciously. The man laughed. "You're not as tough as I thought you were a pity. See you around soon,"_

_Damn it. That guy gave me something that makes me immobile. Like a paralyzing potion. Fei Wong, I assure you that I will see you dead._ I wonder how long, this will take to wear off. I also wonder how long it will take the guys to find me. Soel should be able to sense me, in the least.

"Yumi-san?" Syaoran exclaimed. I could hear the faint footsteps, so I'm glad just because I didn't respond he would move on. I could see Syaoran lean over me. "Are you alright?" I tried nodding; believe me its hard when you're forced to not move. "Something's wrong. Guys come over here."

"What is it? Oh, the brat." Kurogane said. I wanted to punch him so badly, I wish I could move.

"Yumi-chan! What's wrong?" Fai asked.

"C'mon brat, get up!"

"C….an't…" I managed to say. _The potion must be wearing off._

"What do you mean you can't?" Fai glanced down in the snow next to me. He bent down and picked something up. It was a small glass vial.

"Yumi-chan. Did someone give this to you?" I managed a small nod. "This must be why, she can't move. It might take a while for this to wear off," he explained. I felt a pair of arms pick me up, off of the ground. "It shouldn't take to long," he smiled. We all turned from the castle and began to make our way back. For some reason I didn't mind Fai carrying me. It almost felt warm and comforting in a way…_No! No, no no no no no no no no no no no! Don't think like that! Don't trust him! Yumi, get a grip._ After I mentally slapped myself Kurogane broke the silence.

"All this work for nothing!"

"Ah~ It's Mr. Grosam." Fai pointed him out who was just getting off of his horse and dripping wet.

"He's drenched." Kurogane stated the obvious.

"He looks cold. But it's not snowing right now, how did he get wet?" Fai asked.

"Maybe he fell into that river in front of the castle. Oi! Brat, did you see him around?"

_NO, I was out cold if you had forgotten! _I wanted to say, but I still couldn't talk much. I just uttered a simple, "No."

"Because of the legend, no one dares to approach the castle unless something big happens!" a townsman shouted who had been looking with us.

"This means, that something very serious has happened." Fai said in a leisurely tone.

"...I want to confirm one thing." I heard Syaoran say.

* * *

"You want to know when each child went missing?" the mayor asked, incredulously.

"Yes. If you have any records, please show me." Syaoran said. The potion had begun to wear off even more. I could walk, but not very fast.

"There are no sheriffs in this town. That's why we formed our own defense team to protect this town!" the townsman shouted again. "If something serious had happened, we would have reported it to the mayor immediately!"

"Of course we kept a record of those missing children." the mayor said slowly.

"May I take a look?"

"Why would you want to look-"

"It's possible that there are clues in the record."

* * *

Syaoran began flipping through the records of the missing children. He never took his eyes off of the book, as if he looked away even fro a second, it would disappear.

"Hey! Don't you dare lose it! These records are very important to the town!"

"All right," he said maneuvering through various obstacles. He tripped and fell face first in a pile of snow. The townsman's jaw dropped open.

"Don't read and walk at the same time!"

"Earlier he did the same thing while riding on his horse." Fai grinned. "He must be deeply worried for Sakura-chan and the missing children."

Kurogane walked over, his shoes shuffling through the snow, over to where Syaoran still lay face down in the snow. He grabbed the back of his jacket and hoisted him up. "I'm sorry." Syaoran apologized.

"Don't rush things. You may miss the very thing you are trying to find." Kurogane replied.

"Right..." Kurogane set him back up standing. Syaoran brushed the snow off of his clothes and the town records, when something in the window caught his eye. I walked over to see what he was staring at and saw Kyle-sensei treating a patient, who was sound asleep in bed.

"Kyle-sensei seems very busy." Fai remarked.

"This town never had a doctor until two years ago when he came," the townsman commented. "He doesn't just help the sick and the wounded, he also watches over and plays with the kids. He's a great doctor." Syaoran, Kurogane and Fai just stared at the man as he went on and on about how great Kyle was. I sighed before hearing a soft creaking sound behind me. I spun around seeing the patient with a sheet draped over his head looking out at the gray sky with glazed eyes. I yanked Syaoran's sleeve, trying to get his attention.

He turned to me with a confused expression. "What is it?"

"Look," I said quietly turning back to the child. The little boy slowly raised his hand and pointed towards the sky.

"Black bird," was the only thing he said. Syaoran and I glanced up at the sky to see no birds in sight. My eyes narrowed. _Why would he act like he had just seen a black bird, when clearly no birds have been here? Hm._ Syaoran looked at me and nodded with a smile. I smirked, catching on to what he was trying to say.

* * *

Kurogane, Fai and I were waiting silently in the bedroom waiting for Syaoran to return. Mokona hopped up and down on the bed, wondering why we weren't speaking. Kurogane finally got fed up with her constant questions and clamped her mouth shut with his hand. "Shut up, fur ball!"

"How mean, Kuro-puu~" Fai teased.

"YOU SHUT UP TOO!" he shouted. Fai just laughed. I ignored their fight and was wondering if Kyle caught Syaoran. The door swung open to Syaoran holding a folder in his hand. He quickly closed the door behind him and smiled at Kurogane's shouting.

I stood up and asked, "Is that it?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"What is that?" Fai asked.

"Medical records." I answered. Kurogane, Fai and Mokona gave us a confused look.

"Why do you need those?" Mokona asked.

"We'll explain on the way. Mokona how good are you at acting?" Syaoran scooped her up in his hands.

"Mokona is an excellent actor! What do you want Mokona to do?"

* * *

The wind began to pick up around the river, making my blonde hair flap around. The cold air made me shiver, along with the falling snow. Syaoran and I were concealing ourselves behind some trees. The branches spread out above us, practically hiding the sky. I had to squint my eyes just to see without getting snow flakes in my eyes. A hooded figure emerged from the woods, with the shape of a child. The figure continued on and stopped abruptly at the edge of the rushing river. Suddenly it collapsed revealing nothing, but the cloak. Another figure that had been following gasped.

"What's the matter, Kyle-sensei?" Syaoran asked, emerging from the shadows. I walked up as well, leaning on a low branch.

Kyle-sensei turned to us, with a startled look on his face. He took the hood of his coat off and said, "I was worried for the child, so I followed him! You said that everyone was watching Mr. Grosam so..." The crunching of snow followed soon after, indicating another person coming up. "MR. GROSAM! What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Grosam isn't the criminal." I began, sending glares at the doctor. "The fact that he is wet is proof of that."

"We looked everywhere and couldn't find the children...and I went time and time again to check the castle, but with the flow of the river I couldn't cross." Mr. Grosam explained. "I tried to construct a device to cross but-"

"In the process you fell in the river." Syaoran finished. "The one who did it knows an easier way to get into the castle." He held up a thin black book. "This is a record of children who vanished kept by the mayor," he held up another thin book, "And, these are the records kept by Kyle-sensei. For the days prior to each child's disappearance, you made a series of house calls."

"The people of the town wanted me to visit!" Kyle defended. "Such coincidental..."

"You asked the first child who disappeared to come by your office so that you could make a proper diagnosis." I said. "Right after that, as children started to disappear, you did a checkup's on the children, saying it was for everyone's peace of mind. You use hypnosis therapy don't you? Syaoran-kun and I heard what the child you treated today said, 'A Black Bird.' But the sky was completely clear of birds." I was interested at the fact this didn't seem to affect the doctor at all. His eyes had a hint of amusement to them. "You implanted a hypnotic suggestion on the child. On snowy nights, when their tracks would be covered, the children chase imaginary black birds, and vanish on their own."

"Then were have the children gone?" Kyle asked, looking down.

"We'd have to say, to the castle." I answered.

"And, how would the children get there?" Kyle asked once again.

"That's actually very simple. You were the one who stopped the river and crossed." Syaoran explained.

"The river! How did it stop?" Mr. Grosam shouted.

"This book." Syaoran held up the history book of Jade, putting away the records in his bag. "It's the history book that the mayor lent me. He mentioned that you had borrowed it as well. There are several pages missing, but these pages were removed in such a way that no one would notice while reading."

I held up another book, "This is the history book that Mr. Grosam owns. It contains all of the pages."

"There was animosity between myself and everyone in the town, so you assumed that no one would dare come to borrow my book." Mr. Grosam stated.

"The missing pages refer to the underground section of the castle." I opened the book and pointed at one of the pages. "There is a large network of passage ways and rooms dug underneath the castle."

"The book also records information on the underground waterways. If there are waterways...then you should be able to devise a way to divert water from the river." Syaoran finished.

"Well did the water stop?" a familiar voice chimed in, with Kurogane following behind. "We found the spot that Yumi-chan and Syaoran-kun said would be there, and would stop the water. It was hidden and incredibly old, but the mechanisms still worked. It's a machine that stops the river from flowing! And there are signs it's been used recently." Fai sang. "I imagine there is one similar inside the castle."

Kyle covered his face, using his hand. He began to tremble, while we all just stared at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Doctor!" a townsman cried. "It isn't true right? They say you were the one who kidnapped the children! Say it's a lie!"

Kyle let out a small chuckle, and suddenly burst out laughing. "That sure puts a damper on my plans doesn't it? To think that some outsiders walk in and prove that I kidnapped the children! When all I wanted was to take what I came for and leave!"

"So it was really you, wasn't it?" Mr. Grosam took a step forward.

"There is something in that castle that I want. But it's in a place I can't reach, and only a child could get in."

"You kidnapped the children just for that?" Mr. Grosam said, trough his clenched teeth.

" 'Just for that?' You can spout such idiotic words because you know nothing about me!" With that sentence, Kyle-sensei began to run across the water and into the castle.

"WAIT!" Mr. Grosam protested. I gritted my teeth, while Mokona popped out from underneath the coat. "He's walking on water?"

"No. He isn't." I said, angrily.

"Why are his footprints glowing? And there's a rock path just beneath the surface!"

Fai scooped Mokona up in his hands. "You played the role of the child very well Mokona."

"It's one of Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques – Super Disguise."

"Why do the doctor's footprints glow, anyway?" Kurogane asked and jolted up, seeing Mokona wiggle her way into his sleeve.

"Syaoran asked me to do that too! We took some pieces of scale from that glowing fish, we saw in the country of the lake. Then we ground it into dust!"

"Let's go after him." Syaoran said, glaring ahead of him. All three of us nodded and took off, into the castle.

"Wow, there isn't much in here that isn't ruined, huh?" Fai laughed once we were inside. His attitude was really bugging me. He says that he likes to make fun of me, and then he had a serious expression back in the doctor's room. What the hell was that even about?

"There's a staircase!" Syaoran pointed to where the glowing footprints descended. "The castle is mostly collapsed above, if there are children here, they would have to be underground."

We all began running down the stairs, following the trail of the doctor's footprints. "The underground is huge!" Fai exclaimed.

"I don't think you have to point out everything we see, Fai-san." I retorted, glancing back to see him still smiling.

"What are all of these rooms for?" Kurogane asked, as we rushed by many doors.

"Look at all of the beds!" Fai said, peering into a room. I glanced at another room to see it have beds too. Hm.

"The footprints ended!" I spun around saw the glowing trail of footprints stop abruptly in the middle of the corridor.

"He noticed and took his shoes off." Kurogane said, glancing over his shoulder at a pair of lone shoes.

"There are other ones here though." I said, kneeling down.

"You're right." Syaoran said.

"The children's?" Mr. Grosam said. _And to be honest I didn't know he was still with us._

"He probably didn't have time to erase them." Fai suggested.

"They lead this way," he pointed. We all continued on down the dark hall. We came upon a much bigger room, in comparison to the corridor. What was different about this room was that there were swings and small toys. The next thing that caught my eye was Sakura falling to the ground, clutching a large crystal with one of her memory feathers inside of it. Kyle was standing above her, holding a chain in his hand, connected to Sakura's ankle.

"SAKURA-HIME!" Syaoran called, as soon as he witnessed the event, too.

"Stay back." Kyle warned, holding a blade up to the princess's throat. Syaoran glared back at him fiercely. "All I need is the feather, and this tiny town...no, this whole country will be under my control! After all, three hundred years ago the princess with locks of gold built an entire underground town and saved the children using the feather's power."

"The golden-haired princess kidnapped the children and killed them in the castle, didn't she?" the townsman cried.

"Did you ever stop to think, WHY the princess would need to do any of that?" I shouted back at him. "The whole history of this country never made any sense to me."

"But-"

"No, Yumi-san is right. If she wanted to kill the children, would she need any rooms like this in the first place?" Kyle grinned, smugly. "Seems like my potion didn't last for as long as I hoped," he commented, quietly. I clenched my fists.

"So, Kyle was the one who knocked Yumi-chan out." Fai crossed his arms.

A woman with long flowing golden hair, appeared next to Sakura. _She must have been the ghost of the princess that Sakura saw a few days ago. _The princess's ghostly eyes locked with mine. She must have been able to sense that I could see her.

_"You must be Yuuko-san's daughter," she said. _

I nodded. Kurogane gave me a strange look, but shrugged it off.

"How do you know Yuuko?" I whispered.

_I was told she granted wishes. She sure was an interesting woman. _Sakura glanced over in my direction, with a surprised look on her face. I'm guessing she was trying to send me a message, asking me if I could see Princess Emeraude too.

"But, right after the princess received the feather the King and Queen died!"

The ghost princess turned her attention back to Sakura and shook her head solemnly.

"No. That's wrong." Sakura said, as her childhood friend took another step forward.

_"Mother and Father died in an accident," _Princess Emeraude explained. _"After that, there was a disease that spread around that only affected the children. Child after child fell victim to it. It was then that the feather floated down to me. It was only in the presence of the feather that the disease was weakened. With all of the bad crop seasons, there was famine. I wanted to help any way I could. I invited all of the town's children to the castle until they were cured."_

"So when it said that no parents were ever able to hold their children in their laps again..." Sakura said.

"Who is Sakura-chan talking too?" Fai asked.

"The princess." I answered, not looking back at him or Kurogane.

"I have no time to listen to you talking to phantoms!" Kyle exclaimed raising his dagger above his head. "GIVE ME THE FEATHER!"

"DON'T DO IT!" Syaoran yelled, running up and grabbing Sakura, pushing her out of the way. In the process the blade slashed across his shoulder causing it to bleed.

"Syaoran-kun!" she shouted. Suddenly the ground began to shake violently.

"What is that sound?" Fai asked.

"An earthquake?" Kurogane wondered, aloud.

"No. That's the sound of-" his sentence was cut off by the walls cracking and breaking apart, letting water flow in. My eyes widened slightly. _W-Water?_

"I think the devise that stopped the water just broke."

"Well, it was very old. It couldn't hold back the water for an extended period of time." Fai said.

"Watch out!" Mr. Grosam shouted as a large piece of stone crashed to the floor, separating us from Syaoran and Sakura.

"Get the children above ground!" he told us. "Don't worry about Sakura-hime and me. We will get out of here. You go on ahead!"

"Let's go." Kurogane said simply and began to walk away.

"Yup!" Fai smiled. I nodded in agreement, trying not to seem too eager to get out as quickly as possible. "Let's get the children out of here," he said, picking a little girl up.

"But, your friends are in danger!" Mr. Grosam protested.

"If he says, he'll get out, he will get out. That's how Syaoran-kun is." Fai said. I grabbed hold of a little boy's hand and a little girl's hand and followed close behind Kurogane.

* * *

"Nobody's coming out! The flow of the river is getting stronger! If the river flows any faster, your friends won't make it." Mr. Grosam said. Kurogane, Fai and I had managed to make it to the icy bank of the river with all of the children.

"Wait..." Kurogane said, stopping the man from babbling on. I reached for my necklace to make sure it was still there. I felt my breath hitch in my throat when my fingers brushed against skin instead of my stone. _It's not here! No, this can't be. It was a memento from my mother. It must have dropped in the water._ I looked down into the river and clenched my teeth. _I can't...go in water...I just can't._ I glared at the river as if it were its fault. _Yuuko said it was important-_

"Yumi-chan?" Fai tapped my shoulder. "Look." he pointed to Kurogane grabbing Syaoran's hand and pulling him out of the water with princess Sakura.

"What about the doctor?" the townsman asked.

"I...don't know." Syaoran panted.

"The fact that he isn't chasing you means that he shared the same fate as the castle." Fai concluded, watching the castle crumble away. I knelt down next to the princess, seeing her eyes flutter open. I followed her gaze towards Princess Emeraude, smiling at a child.

_"You saved the children. Thank you so much."_ she touched the crystal, causing it to melt. The feather was free in a matter of seconds, and began to dissolve into Sakura's body. _"I'm so glad that the feather is returned to you. Please be cautious. Someone is constantly watching you," _the ghost princess said as Sakura began to fall unconscious once again. Princess Emeraude turned to me and gave a small smile. _"I have a feeling that you already know who that person is."_

"I do. And I will not let his wish be fulfilled." I answered. Princess Emeraude's smile disappeared.

_"Before I pass on, there is one more thing you should know." _

I tilted my head to the side. "What?"

_"The person you care about the most...will be the same one to end your life." _With that said, the princess's ghostly form, became lighter and lighter, until her body disappeared completely. _"Be careful."_

_

* * *

_

Syaoran, Kurogane, Fai and Mokona were all together in Sakura's room waiting for her to get up. I was in my own room, leaning against the wall and letting Princess Emeraude's words sink in. _"The person I care about the most?" Who in the world would THAT be?_ _There are very few people that I care for in the slightest._ I sighed. _It's too early to tell. Guess I just have to keep my distance._

"Yumi-san. Is this yours?" Fai's voice cut in. He held a small chain in his gloved hand, with a small purple gemstone hanging from it. I didn't even hear him open the door.

"Yes. Where did you find it?" I asked skeptically.

"It washed up on the riverbank. I thought it belonged to you," he smiled.

"But, why did you do that for me?" I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the necklace.

"We're friends aren't we?"

"Friends?" Fai nodded and walked up to me. I sighed, "I don't really think of us as...friends." I muttered, reaching for the necklace only to have it pulled out of my reach. "Give it." I hissed.

"Not until you answer my question." Fai smiled.

"Fine. What is it?"

"Are you afraid of water?" This question took me by surprise.

"What makes you think I am?"

The wizard took another step closer. "Earlier today, in the castle, you looked surprised when water began to enter the castle. You also seemed pretty eager to get out. Another example was when you were looking for your necklace."

"So?"

"You would do anything to get it back, correct?" I nodded. "You hesitated at the thought that it might have been at the bottom of the river."

"...I will admit, I'm not a big fan of water. It's not like I'm scared of it." I lied, shooting him a glare. It seemed to bounce off, as continued grinning. We walked behind me and took one chain in each hand. He clipped the ends together, his fingers brushing against my neck. I shivered involuntarily. Fai seemed to laugh at this.

"All done~" he sang. I said nothing and took a step forward. A felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist, as Fai pulled me to his chest.

I blushed slightly. "W-What do you want? Let go!"

"Why? Do I make you nervous?" he chuckled.

"What? N-No! Let go of me!" I squirmed.

"You're very bad at lying."

"Maybe it's because I haven't done it as many times as you!" I growled.

Fai chuckled again. "I don't lie," his grip tightened. "I simply avoid the truth," he smirked. We both stayed quiet for what seemed like years, and all of a sudden he let me go. I spun around to face him. "One more thing," he said.

"What would that be?"

"You're blushing." I flinched.

"I AM NOT!"

"Then why is your face red?" he laughed. I ran over to grab a pillow from the bed and threw it as hard as I could. Fai dodged it with ease, laughing even more. He ran out the door. I ran after him.

"Get back here!"

"Ah, Fai-san, Yumi-san." Syaoran poked his head from out of the door. "Sakura-hime is up. Are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah."

"Yumi-chan, are you alright? Your face is a little red." Mokona smiled from atop Syaoran's head.

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

"Oh no, I can't see Princess Emeraude anywhere!" Sakura exclaimed, pulling on her cloak. "Do you see her, Yumi-san?"

"No, I don't." I said.

"Before, Yuuko once said that when a ghost isn't restless anymore. It finally moves on." Mokona said.

"You mean, on to the next world?" Kurogane asked.

"I'd say, the one most restless over the children's fate, was the golden haired princess, don't you?" Fai inquired. Sakura looked up into the sky. "But, the information that Princess Emeraude passed on to you, Sakura-chan...Was that someone is constantly watching. I'm guessing it was a warning. Yumi-chan, did the ghost say anything to you?"

"No, she didn't." I lied again, trying my best, not to look at Fai.

"There is one thing that I don't understand." Syaoran said. "How did Kyle-sensei know that there was a feather underneath the castle?"

"Wasn't it in the book?" Kurogane wondered.

"I asked Mr. Grosam about that. He said that where the feather went after Princess Emeraude died wasn't written in any book. It isn't in any oral tradition either."

"So, perhaps as we travel along, someone is constantly trying to interfere." Fai tipped his hat, and grinned.

"And is watching us." Syaoran added.

* * *

**Misty: Again I am so sorry this chapter was so late. I promised that I would get it up Friday (even if it was kind of late.) Anyway onto to Outo country! (My favorite country! Besides Piffle.) Anyway, look forward to the next chapter and please review!**


	11. Welcome to Outo Country

**Misty: Hello again everyone! Here is the start of Outo country! I'm happy we have finally come to this one. It's one of my favorite countries. **

**Sakura: Misty-chan doesn't own Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, or any of its characters.**

**Misty: If I was the owner, I would have had Sakura and Syaoran kiss at least once.**

**Syaoran: *blushes***

**Misty: Oh, don't act so embarrassed Syaoran-kun, we all know you want to-**

**Syaoran: Please enjoy! ...so she can't continue...**

**Misty: I wasn't done mister! **

**Yumi: Just get on with it, before you bore everyone.**

**Misty: Sheesh, I didn't think I created you to be so pushy. Do you want me to make you flirt with Fai?**

**Yumi: You. Wouldn't. Dare.**

**Misty: Watch me *smiles and begins to type***

**Yumi: NO! Stop it! GAH!**

**Misty: Too late.**

**

* * *

**

**Welcome to Outo Country!**

Syaoran held on tightly to Sakura's hand as we fell in the next world. I landed, with my boots making a small clacking sound on what looked like pavement. Mokona hopped, gleefully on Syaoran's head.

"So, what country are we in now?" Fai asked. As if on queue, four women appeared out of nowhere and shot their arms out towards the city.

"Welcome! To the Country of Outo!" they all said, simultaneously. The four girls ran up to us and hugged each one of us. A girl with pigtails, tied in braids caught both me and Sakura in a tight grip. Sakura was squirming under the sudden hug. I said nothing, waiting to be let go. I watched as the fourth girl threw her arms around Fai and laughed.

"There are so many cute girls!" he exclaimed.

I glared at the girl, not knowing why I cared. "Are you going to flirt with every cute girl you see?" I asked, trying to keep my tone calm.

"Hm? Oh come on Yumi-chi." I twitched. "We just arrived here and you're already mad at me?" he asked innocently. I growled silently and turned away.

"Get off." Kurogane muttered to another girl, who was embracing him. _I wonder how Tomoyo-hime would feel about that._

"Ah, your clothes are weird. Are you from a different world?" one of the girls asked while she was cuddling Mokona. This made everyone turn to her, with a surprised look.

"Are there people in this country that came from other worlds too?" Syaoran asked.

"Of course. Many people come from other worlds to visit this country," the same woman answered. "By the way, have you registered yet?"

"Huh?"

"Oh no! That's not good! We have to take them to city hall immediately!" three of the 'welcoming committee' lined up for dramatic effect. Sakura was trying to catch her breath, from finally being let go. The girl certainly didn't look it, but she has a strong grip.

"Let go." Kurogane said, more sternly. I hadn't realized that one of the girls still hasn't let go of Kurogane.

"Come on! Let's go to city hall!" they sang, while leading the way.

* * *

"Welcome to Outo Country," a cheery girl with short curly blonde hair greeted us. "Please fill in your names here," she shuffled through some papers and handed a few to Fai. Syaoran-kun and I were waiting beside him at the front desk, while Sakura, Mokona and Kurogane were sitting a few seats away. By the looks of it, the princess was drifting off. I tapped my boot on the tile floor, impatiently.

"You can use aliases it you want," she continued.

"So we can use a pseudonym?" Fai asked, picking up a pen. I didn't like where this was going.

"Yes," she answered. Looking more closely, she looked a lot like someone or something I've seen before. _I think it was on a T.V show that Mokona and I used to watch when I was younger. Angelic- something?_

"Alright then, I'll just fill in everyone's names." Fai smiled and began writing names down.

"W-Wait a second Fai-san!" Syaoran exclaimed, nervously catching a glimpse of the paper.

I sighed, "He did something stupid didn't he? What names did he put down?" I asked, regretfully.

"You don't want to know, Yumi-san." Syaoran rested his head in his hand.

"Okay, I'll keep this," the receptionist took the sheet. "What kind of job would you like?"

"Do all travelers have to do work as well?" Fai questioned.

"It doesn't really matter, but if you don't work you won't have any money and then you won't be able to buy anything," she said.

"I suppose~"

"Have you decided on where to stay yet? I can recommend some nice places for you."

"Excuse me, but what is this country's currency?" Syaoran asked, politely cutting in.

"It's 'yen.'"

"We don't have any of that do we?" Fai asked. I shook my head.

"If you have brought any sorts of items, we can exchange them for money."

"Okay~ Kuro-wan, bring the bag over here!" Fai called.

"DON'T CALL ME OVER LIKE A DOG!" Kurogane shouted. His loud outburst caused Sakura to practically jump. At least she was wide awake now.

* * *

With the money that we managed to receive, we were able to afford a large two-story house. It certainly looked bigger on the inside and it already had a few pieces of furniture in it. Judging by the room, I would think it used to be a restaurant or a café. Though, I had to admit it was a nice house. I noticed Sakura-hime patting the couch, trying to get comfortable, before she fell asleep again. I couldn't blame her, it was getting dark out.

"Lucky we were able to sell the clothes we kept from Koryo country and Jade country." Fai commented. Kurogane was looking out of the window, while Syaoran was rummaging through the bag. I sat quietly on the floor against one of the arms of the couch. It was starting to feel a bit warm, so I unbuttoned my tan cloak and rested it on Sakura's.

"Some countries treat clothes from other countries as treasures." Syaoran explained.

"Did you learn that while you were traveling with your father?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Is it alright to be so relaxed? Someone could be spying on us right now." Kurogane said, turning away from the window.

"They are." I said simply.

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT SO CALM?"

"Hm. You should loosen up once in a while." Fai slumped over his thick coat.

"You guys are way too relaxed!"

"So..." Fai began, ignoring Kurogane's comment, "Now that we have a place to stay, next...Mokona?" Sakura collapsed onto a pillow and fell asleep instantly. Mokona patted her on the head and jumped from behind her, on the front of the couch.

"Although it's very faint, Mokona can sense the presence of a feather. There is a feather in this country." As soon as Mokona finished her sentence a loud rumbling noise came from outside. A huge monster, with wide eyes burst into the house, shattering the window into tiny pieces. Kurogane quickly grabbed the sleeping girl and jumped away from...whatever that thing was.

"Wow, we just moved in and we already have a guest." Fai smiled.

"We didn't invite him in here." I said. As more of the monster stepped into view in seemed to crawl on four legs with claws and had horns on its back. It swung its long clawed leg, trying to hit one of us. I jumped up and shot one of my violet spheres at the creature, and it recoiled in pain. Syaoran jumped up, getting his arm grazed by the monster's claw as it swung again. A few drops of blood were coming from the cut, but he looked okay. Syaoran kicked the creature with a great force, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Good job." Fai smiled. "First we are greeted by cute girls," I gave him a look, "...and then we get this beautiful house. I thought this was a friendly country, but it's dangerous too." A soft sizzling sound erupted around the fallen creature. We all watched with confusion as the monster seemed to evaporate into thin air.

"It disappears?" Syaoran yelled.

"This is indeed a very dangerous country."

* * *

_Yumi ran home as fast as she could, dodging the rock being thrown at her by her classmates. "Go home, freak!" one of the kids shouted._

_ "Why don't you just die? Even your own parents hate you!"_

_ "Devil child!" this was a regular thing for Yumi. She didn't know why, but the teasing just recently started. Everyone in class hated her, teased her, everything._ _She felt like a trapped bird, flying aimlessly around a locked cage trying desperately to get out. Yumi wandered up at the park, where to her grief the kids followed her._

_ "P-Please go away," she pleaded, trying to hold in tears. _

_ "You'd like that wouldn't you?" one of the boys sneered._

_ "I-I have to get h-home," she said in a meek voice. Yumi backed up into the fountain and glanced around frantically for any kind of help. To her dismay, no one was in sight. She tried to make a break for it, when two of the kids held her arms and shoved her back near the fountain. A boy smirked and grabbed the back of Yumi's head, shoving her head, in the fountain water. She could hear the faint sound of laughter as she struggled to get free. Yumi couldn't breathe and could feel herself losing conscious. She thrashed around again, desperately hoping they would let go. At this rate she could die. The blonde girl stopping moving and felt herself pass out. _

_ When the kids didn't feel the girl they were torturing, move they pulled her out instantly and dropped her to the ground. _

_ "We didn't kill her did we?"_

_ "She might have, we practically drowned her!"_

_ "But, her parents told us to JUST bully her."_

_ "This isn't good! Let's get out of here!" the kids fled from the scene, leaving the unconscious girl lying there._

_

* * *

_

_ Yumi's eyes fluttered open to the night sky. She groaned in pain, and sat up. The blonde girl rubbed her head. "OH NO! I'M LATE!" she picked up her school bag and raced home. Yumi looked up at a street clock and saw that the time was 7:35. "This isn't good, I was supposed to be home over two hours ago." The girl ended up at her house and wondered if she should go inside. She rubbed the bruises on her arm tenderly, from where the kids grabbed her. Her violet eyes gazed behind her then back at the door handle. She gazed sadly at it for a second and stepped inside. Yumi was relieved to see that her mother or father weren't in the main room. She walked on slowly and made a mad dash for the stairs, when she heard her foster mother's voice._

_ "No, she isn't here yet." Her mother sighed. Yumi guessed that she was talking on the phone, and didn't even dare to interrupt. _

_ "I need to see that girl dead myself." a gruff male voice said. Yumi stiffened. _

_ "I understand master. It seems something is always getting in the way."_

_ "Of course something is! You ignorant fool! Yumi is the one that is destined to ruin my plans, she needs to be dead before I execute my plan! After all Yumi is an ~~~~~~! _**(**_**By the way, what the man is calling her is a clue for later on.)**_

_ "I understand. She will be executed without fail," her mother said, with an almost robotic voice. Yumi gasped a little too loudly. _

_ "Ah. So she is here," the man said. Yumi turned and bolted for the stairs before her mother caught her arm and threw her at the wall. She let out a cry of pain and her mother held her a few feet off the ground by her throat. _

_ "You heard that didn't you?" she asked in a menacing tone. The girl shook her head, tears spilling over her eye lids. She threw her foster daughter to the ground and pulled out something that shined in the moonlight. A knife. Yumi's eyes widened as more tears came. She stumbled back, when her mother caught her by the throat again, and pinned her to the wooden floor. _

_ "You're orders, Fei Wong?" A tall man with a red symbol of a bat on his black robe walked in. _

_ "W-Who?" Yumi asked, overwhelming fear and sadness in her voice._

_ He smirked. "Kill her."_

_She raised the knife above her head and let her arm drop. The last thing Yumi saw was the flash of the knife before she screamed._

_

* * *

_

"OI Brat, wake up!" My eyes snapped open and I realized I was breathing heavily. It took a while to regain my senses. I saw that I was still in the main room of our new house. I sat up and noticed that I had been using Fai's coat as a blanket (either that or he put it on me) and my cloak as a pillow. "You okay brat? You were screaming in your sleep." Kurogane said.

"Hm? Yes I'm fine. How's Sakura-san?" I wiped the dream-caused tears from my eyes.

"She's still asleep. Amazingly she didn't wake up from all of your yelling."

I heaved a sigh, "Where are Fai-san and Syaoran-kun?" I asked, glancing around.

"They went to city hall to ask about that thing we fought last night." Kurogane replied.

"Oh. Did Mokona go with them?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Never mind." I muttered. I reached up and rubbed my neck, feeling immense pain and bruises. It almost felt like someone was trying to strangle...me. My thoughts drifted back to Koryo, when I had those marks on my stomach. _Why am I getting these marks again? Is it part of the price? I'll have to ask Yuuko about it later._ Soon enough, I felt the marks start to disappear, but the pain lingered for a while. I sat still for the time being, thinking about my new memory. _What did Fei Wong call me? Why couldn't I hear it? Why does Fei Wong want me destroyed? And why did he seem to know that something protects me from dieing? It looks like he knows more about me than I do._ I shook my head, decided I was thinking too much. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Kurogane was sitting down with his arms crossed, watching me. I decided to ignore it, hoping he wasn't about to hound me with questions.

"We're back~" Fai sang, him and Syaoran carrying three bags. "Did Kuro-wan stay home like a good boy?" he laughed and patted the ninja on the head.

"I told you, DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE I'M SOME SORT OF DOG!"

"Oh, that reminds me, we decided on our jobs." Fai said.

"What are they?" I asked.

"Well, Syaoran-kun and Kuro-wan will defeat Oni's to earn money."

"Kid, explain." Kurogane turned to Syaoran.

"Well, you see an Oni is that creature we fought last night-" Syaoran began.

"Wahh! Kuro-wan doesn't listen to me," Fai fake-cried.

Syaoran and I sweat-dropped. "STOP ACTING LIKE A FOOL!" _How are Kuro-san's shouts not waking Sakura-hime?_ Syaoran explained to us, the occupation he and Kurogane would be taking up. He also told us a little bit more about the 'Oni.'

"I see," he smirked. "An Oni hunter, huh? Sounds interesting."

"Kuro-poo is all excited~" Mokona squeled.

"But, will you be okay?" Kurogane asked the young archeologist.

"Eh?"

"We don't know how powerful these Oni things are yet. But there are people that specifically deal with them and are paid to do it. That mean this isn't a job for amateurs," he shot a glare. "You," he grabbed a fistful of his brown hair, "Are blind in your right eye."

Fai actually looked surprised at that. That was one of the many things Yuuko told me about. _And the fact that Syaoran is-_

"The first time I saw you fight, you used this thing called Kudan. Kudans are controlled through mind and power. Even if your eyes can't see it wouldn't be a problem. Another example was in Koryo country. When we arrived, the lord's son instantly grabbed the princess's arm. You didn't show any sign that you saw it. He really meant to hurt the princess. There was definitely murder in his eyes. If you didn't attack right away, he would have done something worse. Precisely because you couldn't see, you reacted only to the son's aura. You made the first move and knocked him down. Then there was that Oni from yesterday. When it attacked from the right you reaction was a bit slow," he crossed his arms, "If the opponent is an even more powerful Oni, it won't be just a scratch or two."

"I will try not to cause you any trouble. Please," he bowed.

"Kuro-sama isn't that okay? Give him a chance." Fai said, Mokona on his shoulder.

"Hmph," was all he said, but it in his language is probably meant okay.

"Thank you." Syaoran smiled, looking behind him at Sakura.

"What's in the bag?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention what job you, Sakura-chan and I will be doing." Fai tossed a bag to me. "Get changed and I'll tell you."

"Okay..." I said slowly and walked off, into a different room. I locked the door behind me and pulled an outfit out of the bag. Flipping on the light switch, I saw that I was holding a light and dark blue Japanese waitress uniform. **(AN: I'm sorry I suck at describing clothes, usually when Yumi does have outfits they will look similar to Sakura's just different colors.) **"It's nice," I mumbled thoughtfully.

* * *

After I got changed, I stuffed my traveling clothes into the same sack. I had to admit that I was a little surprised that it fit almost perfectly. Wait a minute...did Fai pick this out? I frowned. _How does he even know my size?_ I unlocked the door and peeked out. Syaoran was spreading a cloth on a table while Kurogane was fixing the window from the Oni attack. I located Fai behind the counter making some tea. I went over to him, but before I could ask, he spoke first, "Hello, Yumi-chan. Is the uniform the right size?" he smiled.

"Yes. That's beside the point. How did you know my size?" I frowned.

"Hm? Oh. Syaoran-kun picked one out for Sakura and I thought you two were the same size. You look really nice in it,"

I felt my face heating up, but I coughed and turned around to hide it. "Thanks." _What's going on with me? Why am I blushing all the time?_ I went over to Syaoran noticing his new outfit too. His uniform looked a lot like Watanuki's school uniform. "Can I help with anything?"

"Here," he handed me another white cloth, "Do you mind setting up that table over there?"

"Not at all." After a few minutes I heard Sakura-hime start to wake up.

"Mm. I smell tea..." she said sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Are you awake now, Sakura-hime?"

"Eh? Yes...um..," she stuttered. _She must be wondering about all of the new stuff we currently have._

"We used the money we received for defeating an Oni last night. We used it to repair the money and buy new furniture," Fai explained. "We also changed into this country's clothes. But I do wonder about what Kuro-pyon is wearing."

"This is a hakuma," he said sternly, from atop a ladder.

"Kurogane-san, is that what the clothes in your country look like?" Syaoran asked.

"Yeah, more or less. What are you wearing?" he asked Fai.

"These are the clothes I should wear for my job. I thought that we should open a café. We can gather all kinds of information from the customers this way. That's what the receptionist at city hall said."

"Mokona is going to help too~"

"The plan is that Sakura-chan and Yumi-chan work with me in the café."

"Okay, I haven't really done this before but I will work very hard." Sakura bowed.

"Alright then, let's hurry up and change then." Fai smiled, holding another bag over his shoulder.

"Eh?" she seemed confused at all of this, but grabbed the bag and walked into a different room to change.

"Of course, every café must have pretty waitresses." Fai said to Mokona.

"Yup! Sakura-chan and Yumi-chan will make excellent waitresses. That is, as long as Yumi-chan doesn't lose her temper." they laughed.

"You do know that I can hear you right?" I smirked, grabbing Mokona by the ears. "How would you like to by the first dish I cook up?"

"WAHHH! NO! KURO-CHAN AND YUMI-CHAN ARE GOING TO EAT ME!" Mokona cried with her smile still in place. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the princess stick her head out of the door. Sakura stepped out slowly and started over to Syaoran. Her uniform was similar to mine. The only different was that hers was pink and slightly orange.

"Is this...strange?"

Syaoran blushed. "Is Syaoran-kun working with us as well?"

"No. Kurogane-san and I will be doing other work," he said, Kurogane walking past them carrying the ladder and a white sheet.

"Please be careful, and don't get hurt," she said.

His eyes widened for a second, and then he smiled. "I will."

Mokona's eyes widened as well. She opened her mouth wide, as a plate came out and landed neatly on the table. Six pieces of Fondant Au Chocolat where already on the plate. "What are these?" Fai asked, not fazed at all, by what just came out of Mokona's mouth, unlike Syaoran and Sakura.

"These are from Yuuko."

"Is it a gift?"

"There is no way that with would give away anything for free." Kurogane huffed.

"But they look delicious."

"These are Fondant Au Chocolat. There is lots of chocolate inside so we should them while they are hot." Mokona explained, excitedly.

"Good timing everyone, let's eat," Fai carried over a tray with tea cups and Sakura carried extra plates over. Everyone sat down at the table.

"I don't want any." Kurogane said, doggedly. Fai picked up a fondant with his fork and slipped it into Kurogane's mouth while it was open. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Fai just shrugged and smiled, lazily.

"Kurogane ate it! I'm going to tell Yuuko~" Mokona sang.

"Don't you dare!"

I dug my fork in the Fondant Au Chocolat, some chocolate spilling, out and raised it up to my lips. I blew on it and popped it into my mouth.

"It's tasty!" Sakura exclaimed. Syaoran nodded.

"It really is." Fai commented.

_I had to admit, it certainly it delicious. The chocolate melts in my mouth._ **(AN: I want some too! T_T) **"Watanuki-kun is a great cook." I said, memories of him fussing about when Yuuko asked for more liquor filling my mind. A smile tugged at my lips, but I held it down.

"Who's Watanuki-kun?" Sakura asked.

"The one who most likely made these." I pointed at the food. "Do you know him Syaoran-kun?"

"Um...no, why?" _Right there. If he was Syaoran-kun he would know who Watanuki-kun is._

"Nothing." I said, resting my chin in one hand.

"Are you homesick?" Fai asked. I shot him a glare, knowing what he meant.

"No. The food just brought it up." I took another bite. _Although. I wonder what price Yuuko is going to make us pay for these..._

_

* * *

_

_In the sun lit piano room, beautiful music filled the house. Yumi sat on the piano bench next to her mother. This memory was as clear as day, during the summer. Cicada's chirped in the back ground as the two started to sing. _

_Arigatou ima koko ni ite kurete  
kimi wa nakanai tori no you de mune ga nanda ka kurushii_

_Tokidoki yokogao ni kodoku ga ochite'ru  
yasashisa no oku no yowasa mo shiritai no_

_Douka kimi ga osorete'ru nanika wo watashi ni mo oshiete  
douka watashi ni dekiru koto ga aru nara  
kimi no egao no tame ni..._

_ "That was amazing okaa-san!" Yumi laughed, with delight. _

_ Her mother laughed as well, "I should say the same to you. Although, I can't say that you got your singing ability from your father." _

_ "Who says I can't sing?" a male voice cut in._

_ "DAD!" Yumi shouted running over and giving him a big hug. Her dad bent down and ruffled her blonde hair. "You've been gone a while is everything okay?"_

_ "Yes. I actually just came home from seeing one of your old friends," he said, directed at Yumi's mother._

_ "Did you give her the present?"_

_ "Of course. She seemed a little embarrassed by it though. It's been a while since you've made any clothes." __**(AN- Did you figure out who her mother and father are yet?) **__He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. _

_ "You used to make clothes okaa-san?"_

_ "I did, for one of my friends when I was younger..."_

_

* * *

_

Yumi smiled at the new memory. _I just have yet to see her face._ Sakura-chan, Fai-san and I have been baking and setting things up all day long. I was amazed to see it was already night time and our hunters have yet to come back. Sakura and I were just sitting at the table, and I was staring at Fai, thinking about two things. One was why he was painting a cat on a wooden sign, and Two was why my face heated up when he was close to me. I sighed. I didn't like it. It always distracted me because I think about it too much. _And there I go again rambling in my mind._

"~Meow, meow~" Fai sang happily.

All of a sudden the door flew open. "YOU BASTARD!" _Wow, random._

"Welcome back~" Fai gave the pissed off ninja a smile.

"How dare you give me that weird name!" I glanced behind Kurogane over to Syaoran, to see his expression.

Fai picked up a paint brush and began to draw something on a piece of paper. "The girl working in city hall said that we could use aliases and I don't know the language of this country...so I drew this!" he held up a paper with a picture of a big black dog next to a much smaller brown-haired dog. "The names are 'Big Puppy' and 'Little Puppy.' See?" he started drawing again. "And, Sakura-chan and I are...Big Kitty and Little Kitty," again, he held up a picture of a taller cat next to a smaller cat. "As for you, Yumi-chan I thought about your name. Then I remembered your Kudan back in Hanshin, so I decided to name you 'Canary-chan.'" Fai held up another picture with a drawing of a canary on it. _Canary-chan? He still couldn't drop the 'chan'? Oh well, I guess we'll have to deal with it. _"What I'm drawing on the sign will be our café's logo." Apparently, what he had been painting on the sign was a black cat head with narrowed eyes.

Kurogane unsheathed his sword and charged straight for Fai. "DAMN YOU! Is your brain only full of rubbish? LET ME CUT IT OUT AND CLEAN IT FOR YOU!"

"Wahhh! Big Puppy is mad!" Fai cried, dodging Kuro- I mean Big Puppy's fatal blows.

"Wow, this is a very cute café!" a female voice said. I turned toward the door to see a girl with short dark hair and a green sailor uniform. With her, was a taller man with a mark on his face. His uniform was also green, but a much darker color. I noticed a peculiar silver wolf, next to the girl. "This place is really great, Little Puppy-san."

Syaoran seemed to sweat-drop at his new name.

"It smells really good in here," the man said.

"We're experimenting with a new chocolate cake. We're opening up shop tomorrow. You can try some it you'd like." Fai said, ducking from a plate headed straight for him.

"We'd love to!" they exclaimed together. "Is that alright, Big Puppy?"

"I am NOT A DOG!"

* * *

Fai brought out two pieces of cake. He set them down it front of the girl, (Nekoi Yuzuriha) and the man (Shiyu Kusanagi). While he was bringing them out, they told us their names and sat at the counter.

"This is delicious!" Yuzuriha squealed.

"I'm glad." Fai said. "I followed Mokona-chan's advice and added some cream."

"We must tell the other Oni hunters about this place." Kusanagi commented. Sakura was steadily carrying a tray with tea, trying not a drop it. She set the cup down carefully, while Yuzuriha just looked at it.

"Thank you!" she smiled. "You guys just arrived in Outo country right?"

"Yes, we arrived yesterday," Sakura replied with a bright smile.

"A so-called Oni broke into our home right after we moved in. It really caught us off guard." I mumbled, started to get bored.

"When the receptionist at city hall explained what an Oni is, she mentioned something about the class of an Oni..." Fai added.

Yuzuriha took out a rectangular piece of paper and set it on the counter. "Yup, the power of an Oni is divided into seven classes. "I" is the most powerful, followed by "Ro," "Ha," "Ni," "Ho," "He," and "To" in that descending order. Within each class, they are further divided into five levels. For example, Class "Ho" level 1 is the strongest "Ho" Oni. Class "Ho" level 5 is the weakest "Ho" Oni," she explained. _Why exactly do they have all of that? _

"So the strongest Oni would be "I" level 1?" Syaoran asked.

"Yes. Everyone is training hard everyday so that they can defeat that Oni someday."

"That means, the "Ha" level 5 from last night is somewhere in the middle of the scale." Fai concluded.

"That's strange. The ones that invade people's home should at least be a "Ro."" Kusanagi said. The silver wolf that was lying next to Yuzuriha suddenly poked its head up as if it heard something.

"Another Oni is nearby!" Yuzuriha and Kusanagi jumped out of their seats. The dark haired girl patted her wolf on the head. "He can sense the presence of Oni's." she explained.

"Thanks for the treat."

"It was super delicious!"

"How much is it?"

"It's on the house. But, only if you tell everyone about us." Fai smiled, resting his chin in his hands.

"We will."

"See ya, Little Kitty, Canary-chan," Yuzuriha waved at both of us. Sakura smiled and waved back. I waved, and even managed a small smile.

"Looks like we have some regular customers! Right, Big Puppy?" Kurogane started to unsheathe his sword again.

"Mokona, do you sense the presence of a feather?" Syaoran looked down at Mokona. Sakura and I turned his way.

"Mokona, can sense it, but it's very weak. Mokona can't even pinpoint its location." It was true. The power from the feather was very weak.

"We should be able to gather information by working with other Oni hunters." Syaoran smiled reassuringly.

"Mokona will also try her hardest to locate the feather." Sakura gazed at Syaoran sadly. _I wonder what she's thinking about._

_

* * *

_

"Nee, Canary-chan, are you okay?" Mokona smirked, jumping on my bed. After we had all cleaned up, I retired to my room and just looked out of the window.

"Don't you dare call me that! Or you will be the first thing our customers eat." I smirked right back.

"Ahaha, Mokona just couldn't resist. But is Yumi-chan really okay? You seem confused about something," she jumped on my head.

"I guess I am. Mokona, can you do me a favor and call up Yuuko-san?" I asked, getting up and sitting on my bed.

"Sure thing!" A purple beam shot out of the red jewel on Mokona's forehead. Yuuko appeared on the wall, just in front of us.

"Ah, hello Yumi-chan. How are things?"

"Good I guess. Hey, can you sleep while transmitting?" Mokona uttered a small 'sure' before drifting off to sleep. I paused for a second, the blurted out "Yuuko-san, explain to me why I'm blushing all of the time!"

A cat-like grin spread across her face. That can't be good. Now I'm wondering if asking her was the right way to go.

I pretended to ignore it. "It's distracting me..."

"That's so adorable, Yumi-chan~!" Yuuko sang. "But, if you don't mind, who are you blushing around?"

"Fai...a little bit...why?" I asked, confused why who it was around had anything to do with it.

Yuuko's grin widened and she clasped her hands together. "You have a crush on Fai~"

"WHAT! But...I don't...but...I HATE HIM! How COULD I-"

"Hey, you asked." Yuuko snickered. "This is the first time you have shown this much emotion," she gushed.

"Yuuko...I swear I'm gonna-"

"What country are you in now?" she asked cutting me off.

I sighed. "We are in a place called, Outo. We decided to open up a café."

"Excellent. When you get some, make sure to send me some sake. We're out. And Watanuki-kun said he wouldn't get any more until he returned." Yuuko whined. "Think of it as your price..."

"For what exactly?"

"For telling you the truth," she smirked.

"So...you're going to make me pay...for something that I know isn't true? First of all, I know that I don't like Fai that way! Second, it's not like you said it in red truth! This isn't Umineko, Yuuko-san!"

"I liked that show...Anyway, I have to go, a customer is coming," she said, closing her eyes with a serious expression.

"I understand. Thanks." The link was cut and Yuuko's image disappeared. Mokona groggily sat up. It took her a few minutes, but she excitedly hopped up and raced for the door.

"I'm hungry~" she continued hopping down the hall, out of my room. With Mokona gone, I was starting to get bored again. I rested my head on my pillow and closed my eyes. _It would be impossible for me to feel that way. I haven't even known him that long!_

_

* * *

_

A loud noise caused me to open my eyes. I ended up staring at the ceiling, guessing it was either night time or early morning. _When did I go to bed anyway?_ I turned on my side to see, the glowing green numbers on the digital clock. (I can't believe it took me 30 minutes to explain to everyone why it glowed.) The time read, 6:00 A.M. I must have dozed off... I jumped out of bed and hurried downstairs. The noise sounded like it was coming from the kitchen; I figured that I would check their first. When I opened the door, I noticed Mokona mumbling and lying on her back, her stomach bulging slightly. "That was delicious..." she sighed, happily. A bare plate was next to her, with a few crumbs left on it.

"Mokona." I began.

She sat up, quickly. "Y-Yeah?"

"Did you eat the ENTIRE cake Sakura-san and I made together?"

"Yup~ it was delicious!"

I sweat-dropped. "Mokona! We open, in about two hours and you ATE THE ENTIRE CAKE!"

"Mokona's sorry," she hung her small head in shame. I patted her furry head.

"It's okay. But as punishment you have to help me make it again. I doubt anyone is up this early." I grabbed an empty bowl and new ingredients. "Start putting the flour, milk and eggs in the bowl," I ordered, looking for the actual recipe.

"I'm on it!" I found the recipe and set it on the table. I tapped my nail on the marble counter, waiting for her to finish. After she finished, I grabbed the bowl and told Mokona to set the oven. I picked up a whisk, and began to stir it. I felt like I wasn't going fast enough, so I picked up the pace.

"Yumi-chan? What are you doing up?" Fai asked, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Mokona ate one of our chocolate cakes, and I'm making it again. But stirring takes forever!" My stirring became more violent. I sensed Fai right behind me, but before I could do anything his hand was on mine, holding the bowl. His other hand was on mine, holding the whisk. **(AN- Imagine, Nagihiko and Rima stirring together, in that episode of Shugo Chara!) **Before I could question what he was doing, he said,

"If you stir like that, the batter would become too thin. You need to stir slowly," his hand guided mine, while stirring. I just looked down in the bowl. I could feel, blush creeping up my face again. _I bet Yuuko is looking at this somehow and laughing her head off._ "There, see?" he smiled. I bet he's enjoying me blush all the time. Once he let me go, I turned back to the oven, making sure it wasn't too hot. "Can I help you with the rest?"

I put the bowl down and spun around to face him. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

The question seemed to take him by surprise. "Why do you ask?"

"To be honest I just don't know why you and Syaoran-kun, Sakura-chan and Kurogane-san are all nice to me. I don't understand why you all trust me so easily."

Fai smiled. "Just because."

_Just because?_ I stayed quiet and rested my back on the wall.

"Although," he walked over to me and leaned in a bit. "You should learn to trust us a little more. You don't believe in trust do you?" he smirked.

I gave him a semi-glare. "It's not that I don't believe in it, I just don't use it."

He placed his hand on the wall next to me and leaned in even more, so that our foreheads were almost touching. His smirk disappeared, "That's exactly way you-"

"Awww! Fai and Yumi-chan are flirting~" Mokona's voice snapped us out of it. Fai retreated back and laughed, embarrassedly.

"We weren't, she was just telling me about what you did to the cake that we made earlier!"

"Mokona said Mokona was sorry! That's why I'm helping you guys make it again!"

Fai and Mokona began to work on the recipe again, when a thought came to my head, _He's hiding something even I don't know about. Fai is just trying to throw me off! I will find out and I won't let myself be distracted anymore...Yuui._

_

* * *

_

**Misty: Just wanted to say sorry, that this chapter took longer than I wanted it too. Before I say good night, (It's 11:05 here!) I have a request. Those of you who have or heard about GarageBand** **can you tell me a little about it?** **How to sing fandubs if you know. Thanks. Goodnight everyone and please review!**


	12. Author Note 2

**Misty: This is my second Author Note. Once again just to be clear, I'm NOT dropping the story. None of these notes will be about that. I just wanted to say that since I'm starting 8****th**** grade tomorrow, my updates might be a little slower. I knew summer couldn't last forever, but I'm bummed. T_T. **

**Yumi: Anyway, that's all that we wanted to say, Misty is working on the new chapter and since the first week of school isn't nearly as bad as the rest, she'll have more time. **

**Misty: *nods* Once again I apologize; I just wanted to get that out there quickly. Look forward to the next chapter. **


	13. Embarrassed and Annoyed

**Misty: Hey, everyone! I'm finally back ^^ Thanks for all of the reviews it what makes this story continue. Anyway…here is the second part of Outo Country. **

**Anyway, thanks again~ By the way, I just have to say...I met Vic Mignogna!**

**Mokona: Yup, Misty-chan did, and she had a huge fangirl moment. **

**Misty: Yeah... a little when I got home... Even though EXP Con was in October, it was still nice meeting him. Now on with the story!**

**Misty: (Side notes) Thank you for updating you story Sara and Kisa, and to wonton-chan...when are you updating your Celes High story? Also, I posted a new poll on my profile wondering if you think that Fai and Yumi should kiss or not, so please vote and tell me what you think.**

**

* * *

**

**Embarrassed and Annoyed**

After Fai and I finished baking the cake, he began to make breakfast. I glanced at the wall clock, seeing that it was about 7. Kurogane and Syaoran came downstairs and wolfed down the breakfast. Kurogane was a little suspicious about his, so he didn't eat as fast. They soon left and explained to me that there was another Oni attack last night. (I must be a heavy sleeper...) Syaoran was going back to City Hall to cash in the earnings. Deciding I should go ahead and change into today's uniform, I walked back over to the same room before, and changed quickly. This uniform was light and dark blue that looked sort of like a girl version of a hakuma. The sleeves were very long, and I tied a bow around my waist. Two small crescent moons rested on the front of my shoulders. Peering out the door, I finally stepped out and made my way back to the counter. "Here," The wizard placed a cup of tea right in front of me. I picked it up and examined the liquid.

"You didn't poison this did you?" I asked, in a monotone voice.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.

I let out a breath. "Never mind,"

"Did you want something to eat?" Fai asked.

"No thanks." I sipped the tea, recognizing the taste. "Earl Gray right?"

"Mm hm." he smiled.

"...Do you think you should wake Saku-"

_Bam! _"Good Morning!" the princess rushed down the stairs in a female version of a Hakuma which was light and dark pink. Where I had crescent moons connecting my sleeves, she had sunflowers. I also happened to notice he bump on her forehead covered by a bandage.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan~" Fai greeted.

"Morning," I said.

"Sorry, I overslept!" she exclaimed.

"That's alright. We haven't really decided on our opening hours yet. Not to mention you haven't fully recovered yet," he replied, pouring another cup of tea.

"Starting tomorrow, I will make myself get up early everyday," Sakura clenched her fist and had determination, lighting up her eyes.

"Yay! I'll cheer for you~"

"There's no need to push yourself, Sakura-san," I said.

She nodded, smiling brightly at me. "Thank you, Yumi-san," she took a quick look around. "Where's Moko-chan, Syaoran-kun and Kurogane-san?"

"They went to city hall," I explained.

"Last night, Oni's appeared, and they defeated them all. The two went to city hall to receive their reward," Fai added.

"Last night?" Sakura cried.

"Yep, you fell asleep last night and that's why you didn't notice," he told her, placing a can on the shelf.

"Are they hurt?"

"Don't worry, they are both fine," I reassured her.

"Are you worried?"

"Yes. Syaoran-kun tries very hard to get my memories back, but I can't do anything for him. Sometimes...Syaoran-kun looks very lonely," she held a hand to her heart.

"You can," Fai said.

"Huh?"

"There are things you could do to help," he continued.

"He's right," I cut in. "You can smile at him. To Syaoran-san, your smile is his strength and energy to go on,"

"Yumi-san..." Sakura beamed.

"Unlike Yumi-chan here who doesn't smile at all~" Fai laughed, pinching my cheek.

"What the hell?" I shouted.

"This is your breakfast, Sakura-chan. You're hungry aren't you? Eat up!" he pushed a plate of hot breakfast on a tray towards her.

"Thank you," the princess bowed. She sat down, picked up a small bowl and ate some. "It's good!"

"Really?" Fai asked, practically shining.

"Fai-san, you're amazing!" _Great way to add to his humbleness._ "Not only can you draw, you can cook!"

"Well, knowing how to draw is crucial to setting up magic spells, and as for cooking, it's similar to making many other things too. Syaoran-kun and Mokona seemed to like my cooking except for...Big Doggie," he tapped his chin. Sakura nodded in an understanding matter.

"Yumi-san, have you tried this?" she asked.

"No, I'd rather skip breakfast or make my own food,"

"That's cause, Yumi-chi doesn't trust me~" he poked my nose. I swatted his hand away.

"Baka," I muttered. The princess giggled.

"You two get along great,"

"No we do not," I answered quickly before he could say something stupid. Sakura continued giggling.

* * *

"You kneed the dough like this," I explained. Sakura, Fai and I were making bread from scratch and starting with shaping the flour. I took an occasional glance at Fai, who seemed busy with the flour. Shaking my head, I tried to get this morning's events out of my head. I'm not going to let him catch me off guard. Haven't you noticed that he is trying bug me, until I explode? I bet that's funny for him. I mentally rolled my eyes. Taking a quick look at Sakura, I saw that she was working hard and had some flour sticking to her face.

"We're back," a voice said from the front door. We all looked up to see Syaoran, Mokona, and Kurogane standing in the doorway. Mokona bounced right into Fai's hands.

"Welcome back," Sakura smiled, brightly.

"We are back," Syaoran blushed slightly.

"Something smells good~!" Mokona exclaimed. Kurogane stomped right by us, not bothering to greet us. Something told me he was even more pissed off than usual.

"What happened?" Sakura and I asked simultaneously.

"Er, well...we both stopped by City Hall before coming back here, and Kurogane-san wanted to change his registered name but...Well...to put it simply we can't." Syaoran explained. Fai suddenly bust out laughing. Kurogane instantly unsheathed his sword and charged directly at the wizard.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT? Even the girl in the Intelligence House knew about it!" Fai hopped up and dodged the ninja's fatal blows. Sakura and Syaoran sweat dropped. I stared at Kurogane chasing his around the shop, resting my hand on my hip. They knocked a few tables over, which I knew I had to fix in the morning. _Geez. Men._

_

* * *

_

"Let's see..." I mumbled, exiting from the store. "I have the bread, milk, eggs, and that's it..." I crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. I held the large brown paper bag with both arms crossed around it, holding it steady. Seeing as it was already getting dark outside, I decided to take a shortcut, to save time. "What the-" The first thing I saw down the road was a group of large Oni's surrounding something...or someone. Carefully placing the bag on a column connected to a rail, I dashed forward. My violet spheres grew in my hands as I lifted them up. I shot the two directly at one Oni and it fell to the ground with an earth shaking thud. I could see Fai and Kurogane on the inside of the circle. I did a front flip and propelled myself right next to them.

"Evening, Yumi-chan~" Fai sang, holding some arrows from the dart board in the café. He didn't think he could fight Oni with those did he? If he did, that would make him an even bigger idiot than I thought.

"Guys need help?" I asked, holding my stance with my back turned to the two.

"We're fine, brat," Kurogane said.

"Oh well. I'm going to help anyway. You should be grateful," I smirked.

Kurogane made a 'Tch' sound. "Fine, do what you want brat," you could actually hear the smirk in his voice. "Here they come!" he shouted and we all jumped up in different directions. I continued blasting my magic at the creatures. I ran across the back of one and kicked one downward. My blonde hair was swishing in front of my eyes, along with the fact that it was night and the creatures were blending in, making it kind of hard to see. The only light came from a few lampposts and the moon, which was hiding behind a cloud. "DON'T JUST DODGE THEM! ATTACK!"

"But...The Oni recovered itself after my attack,"

"That's what you get for using toy arrows!" I shot.

"Say, I should leave this to the professionals, such as yourself...Right, Big Dog?" Fai grinned.

"You make me feel even madder, by calling me that!"

"Really? Which one do you like?" I dodged a slash made by one of the Oni's and I hopped on its arm. When it moved, it flung me up in the air. Making another flip, I landed on a lamppost.

"I don't like any of them!"

"Focus!" I ordered. Sensing something behind me, I slowly began to turn around to see a bright red beam blocking my view. "Eh-"

"Look out!" I felt something quickly pushing me out of the way and off of the lamppost. I tumbled down and rolled on my side until I came to a stop. I didn't need to see him, because I knew who had saved me. A loud crash, made my head spin around to see a hole in a wall, and debris falling all around it.

"FAI-" I shot up, but the feeling of stinging pain slowed me down. I lifted up my left wrist and tried moving it around. The shooting pain became worse when I moved it. By the looks of it, it was slightly swollen. "Great, just what I need," I glanced up to see all of the Oni's gone and Kurogane was talking to Fai, who was sitting on a large chunk of the wall. I steadied my legs and stood upright, holding my wrist, delicately. Walking back to where I set the bag down, I picked it up and walked back over to Kurogane and Fai. Fai smiled, despite have scratches and had some debris sticking to his face and hair.

"You alright, Canary-chan?" he asked. I glared at him, but it seemed to have no effect on him. I didn't answer him either.

"Hey! Don't cause a scene in front of my bar!" a woman came rushing out. _It's Caldina...from Cephiro..._ I recognized her from one of my missions.

"Sorry," Fai apologized. "We are looking for a bar named Clover, have you seen it around?"

"You mean this one?" the Caldina look-alike asked, leaning on a sigh in the shape of a clover and had the name 'Clover' printed right on it. "Were you interested in coming in?" she asked, opening the door.

Kurogane and Fai started walking towards the door. I stood still, with my feet planted on the ground.

"Oi, brat, aren't you coming?" Kurogane asked. I simply shook my head and turned around.

"I'm going back to the café," I answered and before they could say anything, I began to walk away.

* * *

_Idiot. Baka. Stupid! GAH! _I mentally shouted. I mean...why did he bother saving me? _Baka. _He must be saying that I can't take care of myself, or dodge a simple attack. _Dammit. I need to be stronger. _Clutching the bag tightly, I rounded a corner, nearly bumping into someone. "Oh! I'm sor-" I paused to stare at who I ran into. I vaguely recognized the long light brown hair and the hat. I gasped. "It's YOU!" I pointed. "The girl whose reflection I saw in the Hanshin Republic!"

"Wahh!" the girl cried, dashing away. "Please excuse me!"

"Wait!" I followed her, but unfortunately I couldn't run as fast, with the bag weighing me down. Luckily, she wasn't that fast a runner too.

"Dobato! You were supposed to stay quiet!" a voice that sounded almost exactly like Kurogane shouted.

"What?" I mumbled. _Who is talking?_ Then I saw a little blue dog, in the girl's purse yelling at her and literally spitting fire. _Is that some kind of toy?_ The girl turned a corner. "Oh no, you don't!" I skidded to a stop right in front of where she turned, but to my surprise the lane was empty. "How...did she get away so fast?" I asked myself, disbelieving my own eyes. _But that girl...So what I saw in Hanshin wasn't just me...Also...she seems so familiar, but I know I've never met her._

_

* * *

_

"Hey everyone," I sighed, walking up the pathway to the café.

"Yumi-san! Where were you?" Sakura asked running up, Syaoran trailing close behind her. Behind them, I noticed Nekoi and Kusunagi along with a boy and a girl who I don't remember seeing before. The boy had orange hair, and was carrying a large sword. The girl was much taller than her partner. She had dark cropped hair in the back, and was longer in the front, and tan skin.

"Sorry I was late. We ran into some Oni-"

"Are you hurt?" Sakura grabbed my hands.

"...Um, no." I answered, hiding the pain of my wrist.

"We're back!" a cheery voice came from right behind me. Kurogane walked up, with Fai slung over his shoulder.

"Fai-san!" Sakura gasped.

"We all ran into a few Oni's..." he explained. The second Kurogane saw the dark haired woman, his grip on Fai loosened. His entire arm dropped and so did Fai who fell straight to the ground.

"Souma?" he asked. Oh, that's right, she's a look-alike from Kurogane's home country. She works for Tomoyo-hime I think. "Why are you here? Is Tomoyo-hime with you? Don't tell me Amaratsu is here as well!"

"Erm, My name is indeed Souma, but I believe this is the first time we've met," she said, trying to calm the ninja.

"Huh?"

* * *

After the four of our guests left, we stayed outside to wave them off. Syaoran was helping support Fai to stand up. "Fai-san if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did this happen?" Syaoran asked.

"I had to push Yumi-chi out of the way from an attack," he smiled.

"Ah, that's nice, Yumi-san are you happy he saved you?" Sakura turned to me. I hardly lifted my eyes from the grass.

"No," I said.

"Eh? Why not?"

"C'mon, brat something worse could have happened to you. The least you can do is say 'Thanks!'" Kurogane shot.

"I could have jumped out of the way in time. If he didn't bother to push me, he wouldn't have gotten hurt; it's all of his fault anyway,"

"Yumi-san..."

"I'm not thanking him. I DID NOT ASK to be saved!" I shouted, storming inside the café.

_Mokona POV_

I hopped up onto Sakura's head and watched Yumi make her exit. "What's her problem?" Kurogane questioned, quite annoyed.

Fai chuckled. "It's fine Big Dog. It's not like I didn't expect her to say anything,"

"She's probably just upset, because she couldn't show off," Kurogane grumbled.

"I don't think so!" Sakura-hime, defended.

"She's right..." I finally spoke. "Fai, you got hurt trying to protect Yumi-chan right? She doesn't like it if someone gets hurt on her account. Yumi feels that it's her fault the person got hurt." I explained. Everyone kept quiet for a while.

"Okay~ Now that that's settled, let's go inside!" Fai exclaimed.

* * *

_Yumi POV_

"Sakura-san, are you okay there?" I asked noticing, her struggling with the large amount of dishes she held.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine!" she tried to sound okay. But if you knew Sakura, even for a little time, you would know Sakura is a very bad liar. Syaoran was bandaging Fai's ankle, which I discovered he injured it after pushing me out of the way. I stood, quiet as a mouse, drying a glass cup.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Waiter," Fai joked, causing me to roll my eyes. He glanced over to me, to which I just turned away.

"Does Souma-san look like the Souma-san from Kurogane-san's country?" The princess asked.

"He was so surprised that he dropped Fai~" Mokona san from atop my head.

"SHUT UP!"

"People in different worlds are indeed different, just like what the witch of dimensions said, 'Two people might look similar, but they still are two different people.' So that means we might meet, those people we've met in previous worlds again." There was a moment of silence.

"That should do," Syaoran finished. "What did you guys bring from the bar?" I turned my attention to a large sack lying on our red couch. I wonder how I didn't notice that before.

"Oh, right we brought souvenirs..," he rummaged through the bag and pulled out a lot of bottles. "We bought these from the bar, let's drink!" Fai sang.

"Huh?" Syaoran and Sakura asked.

"This can't be good..."

A few minutes, yes minutes, later it turns out, I was right. The majority of our gang was drunk. Kurogane and I were the only ones sober at the moment. Apparently he can drink; he just doesn't get drunk so easily. Unlike him, I can have only two cups and then...everything becomes a haze...so you know what I mean. Yuuko says that I'm more 'cute' when I'm drunk, but I am not taking any chances. Sakura, Mokona, and Fai were all sitting on the couch, giggling like mad. "You shouldn't have brought these, if you couldn't handle them." Kurogane crossed his arms, aggravated with Fai and Sakura's 'meows'.

"The bar had this pretty singer, meow...and a cute bartender, meow," Fai hiccupped.

"Meow~" Sakura added.

"Meow, we heard many things too~ I remember hearing some weird things, meow,"

"Meow?" Sakura placed a flower on top of Fai's head as well as her own.

"I mentioned our café too, meow. But the only problem is, meow~..."

"We haven't decided on one yet," the princess mewed.

"Yuuko thought of a name, meow~" Mokona laughed. "It's the Cat's Eye!"

"~Meow~ Isn't that a pretty name?" Fai tapped glasses with Sakura.

"Meeeeeooooow~"

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!" I screeched.

"YAY!" Sakura cheered. I face-palmed. She's almost like Yuuko when she's drunk. Thinking of her, made me sigh.

"What's wrong~?" Sakura tapped my shoulder and almost slumped over.

"Nothing, but..." I snatched her cup away. "No more alcohol," I stated firmly. The desert princess's emerald eyes began to tear up.

"B-B-B-But-" she stuck her lower lip out and pouted like a child. "Pwease?" she asked, acting all cute.

"Y-You're not old enough to drink this anyway!" I protested, trying to not let her adorable face get to me.

Oh great, now she had puppy dog eyes. I sweat-dropped. "Fine!" I said, deflated. "Here," I handed her back her cup.

"Hooray!" she cheered, skipping back to the couch.

Before I could depart and leave Kurogane with the work of dealing with these drunkards, someone slung their arm around my shoulder. "Fai? What do you want? You shouldn't be standing,"

"Hm?" he gazed at me, his blue eyes a little hazy. "Is Yumi-chi worried?" Fai laughed.

"Well, you shouldn't be trying to walk on your ankle! Sit back down," I ordered.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Okaaay~ then!" I felt his arms wrap around my waist, as he collapsed back on the couch...with me sitting in his lap.

"W-What the-?" Fai nuzzled my cheek.

"Meow~" he purred.

"Gah! Stop it you idiot!" He continued mewing, and I had to admit this was getting annoying really quickly.

"Yumi-chan..." he whispered.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Got ya~" he playfully bit the top of my ear. I jumped up, fell to the floor, and crawled backwards in utter shock. I had a hand on my right ear and could feel the blush starting to spread. _What the hell did he do that for?_

Syaoran all of a sudden rushed in and bowed at Mokona. "Thank you very much sir!"

"What the hell? Are you drunk too?" Kurogane shouted, angrily. "No more alcohol for you two!" he pointed at the mewing pair.

"Let's start now!" Syaoran picked up a ladle and started swinging in around.

"WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON LEARNING WITH THAT?" I smoothed my skirt and stood up.

"Like this?" he asked, holding the ladle right in front of an upside-down chair. Mokona, Sakura and Fai all made little cat ears out of napkins and were holding them on their heads.

"GO TO BED! ALL OF YOU, NOW!" Kurogane was fed up.

"Well, good night," I said and began walking up the stairs.

"Where are you going? I can't take care of them all by myself!" he shouted.

"I'm sleepy," I yawned and stretched my arms, pretending not to hear him.

* * *

I sat silently on my bed, watching the early morning sunlight pour into my room. I was wrapping my wrist in a few bandages after I washed it with cold water. It would be better to take care of it sooner than later. I closed the small medical box with one hand, and continued covering my wrist. "Yumi-san-" Sakura poked her head in my door. I froze, seeing her expression caused me to quickly hide my wrist behind my back.

"What's up?" I asked casually.

"Did you get hurt?" she cried, rushing over to me.

"...No..." I said slowly.

"Yumi-san, what happened?" she sat down next to me.

I sighed. "I hurt my wrist when Kurogane, Fai and I were fighting those Oni," I admitted.

Sakura pursed her lips and looked at me sadly. "Okay then, can you at least let me help you?" she forced a small smile.

I nodded. "Sure," She tenderly took my wrist, and wrapped one more bandage around. After she was finished she tied the ends tightly.

"There," she smiled brightly.

I experimentally moved my wrist, still feeling a faint pain lingering. "Thank you, Sakura-san," I smiled. "Eh? What's wrong?" I asked, noticing her looking a bit surprised.

"O-Oh, it's just...I've never seen you smile before..," she looked at her lap, hiding her blush.

"Yeah...I guess...just don't tell the guys," I smiled again, holding a finger in front of my lips. Sakura laughed.

"Got it,"

"Ngh…" a groan filled the room. We both looked up to see Fai swaying and leaning on the door frame. His hand was on his forehead, holding his head up and was staring right at us, miserably. I pushed the medical box behind my back, and swiftly pulled my sleeve down over the bandages. Sakura and I stood up and supported Fai all the way down the stairs. Sakura set him on the counter, and he almost immediately went out like a light. About an hour later, I suggested we go ahead and open the Cats Eye. She nodded in agreement and we went to work. People were already coming in and the princess bowed and led them in with a warm smile. We were nearly full, when another groan met my ears.

"Ow, ngh…" Looks like the wizard was finally awake.

"Good morning!" Sakura greeted.

"We opened our doors to let customers in," I mentioned.

"Morning, Fai!" Mokona grinned gleefully.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"There…is this buzzing sound in my head," he rested his arms on the counter and rested his head on them.

"You have a hangover don't you?" I asked, even though the answer was pretty obvious.

"Sakura-chan…are you alright?" he asked, slowly.

"Yes! I got up early this morning and didn't oversleep!" she was practically glowing.

"so bright…" Fai shielded his eyes.

"By the way," I handed him a glass of water, "Where is the doggie duo?"

"They said they were going to get some swords or something…" I trailed off.

"Do you girls mind if you handle the first shift today?" he wondered aloud.

"Sure, we can handle it right, Yumi-san?"

"Hm? Oh…sure," I answered.

"Let's get to work!" Mokona applauded us.

* * *

All four of us were cleaning up after a long day of work. There were many customers for our first day, and Fai seemed to be his normal annoying self again. Sakura was cleaning off tables like I was and Fai was cleaning a few dishes. The bell on our door jingled, letting us know that the 'puppy pair' was back.

"Welcome b-" the princess stopped short when she saw the state Syaoran was in, despite him smiling. His clothes were somewhat torn and he was dripping water all over the floor. "Syaoran-kun!"

"Syaoran is hurt all over!" Mokona shouted.

"Another Oni appeared?" Fai asked. Kurogane walked silently in.

"No," Syaoran answered. "I'll go change now," Sakura stood in front of the door, he just closed.

"Sakura-chan, here," Fai picked up a small jar and handed it to her. "Medicine for his wounds,"

"Thanks!" she took it and hastily followed Syaoran. Her tapping footsteps echoed in the silence of the shop. Kurogane took a seat on a stool, and turned to the wizard.

"Training for sword fighting?" Fai asked.

"Weren't you drunk last night?" the ninja questioned.

"I was lying in bed, but I was still awake. I still had some consciousness," he waved, carelessly.

"You're a strict teacher for his first day," I said.

"Because, I have high expectations for the kid,"

"But seriously, it's not a good idea to rush,"

"Oruha-san said, Outo's Oni's do not mistake citizens for hunters and attack," Fai said. "Which means the Oni's are intentionally doing that," he leaned on a cane to support his bad ankle. "The Oni's that are under this countries jurisdiction are called 'hunting targets.' It's quite obvious why the town knows their every move. Now that I think about it, the Oni's have been acting strangely now that I think about it,"

"So, in addition," I began.

"The new Oni?" Kurogane grinned.

"It may have something to do with Sakura-san's feather," I stated.

* * *

"Fai-san, does your leg still hurt?" Sakura asked, for maybe the tenth time today. Today the three of us were out walking through town square; just to get a look of the town.

"Nope, I have this cane to support me,"

"That's just like what Mokona had in the snowy country!"

"Are those heavy Sakura-san?" I asked her, and yet again she was carrying a huge bag filled with clothes she bought. And she insisted she buy me at least something, even though I insisted that is was alright. Despite my protests, she purchased me a pair of mid-arm length black gloves with the finger tops cut off. I had to admit, they were nicer than my old ones, and I was wearing them right now. She also bought Mokona a small maid's outfit, even though technically they were somewhat doll clothes.

"I can still carry it!" she huffed with determination.

"Sakura-chan is so strong!" Fai clapped.

"Extra! Extra!" a voice cried. A paper boy was throwing and scattering papers everywhere and one floated delicately to Mokona. She caught it and Fai said what we were all thinking.

"Even though we have one, we don't know what it says," he smiled.

"Nice going genius," I muttered.

"Oni's are attacking civilians? What's going on?" a voice whispered harshly. "What are the Oni hunters doing about his?"

"I see," the wizard stared thoughtfully down at the paper. "Even if every Oni hunter joined forces, they couldn't defeat all of these extremely powerful Oni's. We should be more careful from now on. Little Dog is still practicing sword fighting. They will be hungry when they get back...Let's make them something good," he turned to Sakura and me.

We both nodded. Just then I felt something brush up against my leg. I glanced down and saw a kitten with folded back ears nuzzling up against me. _Kawaii! _There was no way I was saying it outloud, might as well scream it in my head. "Aw, kitties!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You don't see those kinds of cat ears often," Fai commented.

"That's true," Sakura said. I patted the little kitten on the head and we headed back to the Cat's Eye.

* * *

It was nearing nighttime, but Fai decided that we should stay open for the night. Our new uniforms for the day were a bit of a mix between a hakuma and the traditional style. After customers started filling up, I carried a tray with two cups of tea to a table with two young girls. The one with the short hair in a ribbon looked up at me and smiled. "Thank you," I bowed in return. Sakura passed right behind me, working rather quickly.

"Sakura is getting more used to work," Mokona commented from her shoulder.

"You're doing a great job," I added.

"Thank you, both of you," she bowed. After our shift was over and it was time to close up, Kurogane came in without Syaoran. (Honestly this didn't surprise me) The princess immediately asked where Syaoran was to which he replied, that he was still training. She calmed down a little after hearing this, but still had a look of motherly-concern. Kurogane assured her that he was fine and he should be back tonight anyway. Fai asked 'Big Puppy' to and I quote, 'Pretty please pick up some more flour?' He didn't seem too pleased with the idea, but Sakura and Mokona offered to go along. The ninja sighed, before shooting a glare at Fai before storming out with the princess and the 'Shiroi Manjuu.' So that just left me and Fai. I wasn't very happy about it either. He could irritate me enough to give me a migraine. With a smile, he directly went to a table and started clearing it off. I decided I might as well wash the dishes, so I went behind the counter and turned on the faucet. Rolling up my long sleeves, I picked up a dish and put the sponge under the flow of water. Cleaning dishes is something Yuuko had me do sometimes. It wasn't really a chore, because I decided to do it on me free whim. None of the plates were really that dirty, so they didn't really take to long to clean. After washing about five plates, Fai called to me.

"Yumi-chan!"

I turned off the faucet. "What?"

"Can you help me clear off the rest of the tables?" he asked, holding a tray of more plates and saucers. I dried my hands, and quickly rolled my sleeves down.

"Sure," I relied, walking out from behind the sink. "How many-" I was about to ask, but my boot caught on a table leg. Everything happened really fast, but I knew I started to trip and I grabbed onto the nearest thing. The sound of tableware crashing and glass breaking filled my ears. My eyes were squeezed shut, so that was all my ears happened to catch. Cautiously, I opened one of my eyes and looked at the floor. Pieces of glass and shattered dishware were right next to me. This all made sense, but why didn't the fall hurt? Opening the other eyes, I looked up to see what I was holding onto…It was Fai. Wait…WHAT? My arms were linked behind his neck, holding on for dear life. Our eyes locked for a split second. Immediately I let go, still sitting down, and started practically waving my arms up and down almost to create an invisible barrier between the two of us. "I'm s-s-orry!" I choked on my own words, because I was talking so fast. Fai chuckled, with an amused expression. "Stop laughing!" I cried, my arms still waving about frantically.

"Ha ha ha, Yumi-chan calm down," he laughed.

"Stop laughing and I'll calm down!" I shouted, pretty sure he was laughing at my blush. "Shut up you-" his hand shot out and he grabbed my left wrist. I gasped inwardly. His gleeful expression melted away to a much more serious one. _No, it's not possible...How could he know about my wrist?_ "What?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. He said nothing, but his grip tightened. I winced in pain. I tried pulling my arm back, but his grip stayed locked on. "Let GO!"

His expression suddenly saddened a little. "Why didn't you tell use you were hurt?"

"Eh?"

"We could have helped you out,"

"H...How did you know?"

"I saw you push the medicine box behind your back. I assumed something was wrong in the first place," he said, then questioned again. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"…It was no big deal," I muttered. He sighed.

"Looks like trying to get you to open up didn't work so well,"

"Excuse me?"

"It's just," he let my wrist go, "it seems like your in a rush all of the time, you never stop to look around,"

"That's because we don't have time to goof off,"

"We aren't in a hurry or anything, besides you don't have to fight alone,"

"I'm perfectly fine doing so," I snapped.

"You seem…somewhat lonely,"

This statement made me jerk back. "Don't talk to me like you understand what's going on with me!"

"I'm not trying to understand you exactly," he suddenly smiled, "Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, Big Puppy, and I will be there too, you aren't doing this journey by yourself. You're not alone,"

My eyes cast downward to the tile floor, thinking. _Not alone? I've almost always been alone…Isolated from everyone when they were trying to reach out to me. I just ignored them, but I also found comfort in the darkness. Sakura-chan is a girl who has never been in the dark. Her smile could brighten up anyone. But still…I'm not supposed to trust anyone, but how do I know that he is telling the truth? How do I know they won't abandon me if I get to close to them? _

"Yumi-chan?" his voice snapped me out of my thoughts. We both stood up from the floor.

"I've got to go." I said, staring to walk away from the shattered mess.

"Wait," he called, as I felt him grab my wrist again.

I spun around to question him, "Wha-" Something blocked my foot's path again as I was faced the other way towards Fai. I could not believe it was the same table that made me grab onto Fai before I fell. My balance started to tip backwards, so I knew that I was about to fall flat on my back. I heard a dull sound as my back crashed on the cold hard floor. It didn't hurt as much as I expected but it still hurt. "Ow…"

I snapped my eyes open, and my voice caught in my throat noticing that Fai wasn't standing over me…he was on top of me. I could feel my face grow red as a tomato. Our position looked wrong. Really wrong. His hands were on both sides of me, right next to my shoulders. His knees were on both sides of my hips and his face was just centimeters away. Our bodies were close together. He was blushing as well, but neither of us spoke or moved. His breath cascaded over my face gently. Our eyes remained open wide and his mouth was just above mine. It was almost like time had stopped around us. My heart was fluttering wildly in my chest, but I felt frozen…

The doorbell chimed. "Hey guys, we got the-" a voice said, and we simultaneously looked up to see Kurogane, Sakura, and Mokona, staring at us.

_Oh. Crap._

_

* * *

_

**Misty: Woohoo! Nice job you guys! Did everyone like the new chapter, despite my long however-many-months absence? Heh, they caught you two in the act, Yumi-chan~**

**Yumi: SHUT IT!**

**Misty: *laughs* Oh, before I forget, I had a new idea for a FaiYumi story, but it doesn't have to do with the series. I might post it soon, and I'll go ahead and say that Fai is a vampire in this one. Please review ^^  
**


	14. Canary's Song Omake's 1 and 2

**Misty: Happy holidays everyone! **

**Sakura and Yumi: Merry Christmas!**

**Misty: I almost completely forgot about the omake's in Tsubasa. I decided to make these two for a present of sorts for all of those who keep up with my story ^^ I'm also happy that I reached 50 reviews! Anyway, I wanted to post this because I knew that I wouldn't finish the new chapter before Christmas, and I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Also, for my omake's I will have one from the actual manga and one I made up. Hope you all enjoy. (First is mine, second is CLAMP'S)**

**Yumi's Nightmare**

"Hey, Fai!" Yumi called out to him, a big smile on her face. **(AN/ Yumi, you smile? Yumi: ...be lucky I don't bite *smiles pleasantly*. Misty: o_0 Touchy.)** Her blonde hair ruffled, as she ran. Fai returned his friends smile.

"Hey Yumi-chan, something wrong?" he asked. Yumi shook her head, denying his question.

"I just had something I wanted to give you," she dug around in the black bag, hanging on her shoulder and pulled out a small box topped with a red ribbon. She handed it to him, to which he accepted it.

"Thanks, but what is it?" he asked.

"Chocolates. After all it is Valentines Day...and um, there," she mumbled the last part, getting a little embarrassed. Fai smiled.

"I see. But...don't you only give chocolates to people you LIKE?" his voice seemed to fall into the teasing side.

"S-So? Yuuko made me make those!" she answered defensively.

"Really? Yuuko did?" he smiled teasingly.

"Yeah..." she muttered.

"So there was no other reason for making these for me?"

"Hmph," she turned her head to the side. "I'm sorry if I can't make my friend chocolates. Even if I did have a crush on him!" her head automatically snapped back to face Fai. "I mean, I DON'T have a crush on him! It's just...I was speaking metaphorically! Yeah, that's it. Don't go getting any idea's! I just made a mistake and I-" Fai tilted her chin up slowly to stare him in the eyes.

"So you DON'T like me?" he smirked.

"...I-" he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. Yumi's eyes widened in shock, but she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Fai did the same by wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. His lips felt warm, soft, sweet and a little comforting on hers. She felt her eyes closing, as she lost herself in the kiss. Yumi's hand tangled in his feathery hair, pulling him closer. After they parted for air, she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She was blushing like mad and frowned at Fai's smiling face. "What?"

"Oh nothing~ I just figured out that you really do like me," he grinned.

"Grr, you-"

"Don't worry, Yumi-chi. I like you too,"

"..." her violet eyes bore into his. "That doesn't mean I liked being kissed," she uttered.

"You didn't?" he asked, skeptically.

"I did," she said in a whisper.

Aaa

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Yumi shot out of bed, with her arms outstretched as if to push something away. She was breathing heavily, and she frantically glanced around the room. A loud laugh caught her ear, as she looked down on the left side of her bed she saw a woman with dark black hair rolling around on the floor. Yuuko was laughing so hard, tears were starting to form in her eyes. "Y...YUUKO! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" the blonde screeched.

The dimensional witch stopped laughing long enough to pull herself onto Yumi's bed. "Haha. I just thought I'd give you a little dream to enjoy," she bust out laughing again.

"But why a dream about him?"

"I thought it would be cute~ And I was right!" she gushed, crushing her daughter in a hug.

"You were watching?"

"Of course~"

"Why?" she gritted her teeth together. Yuuko let go of Yumi, grinning.

"Because I can," she answered simply. A knock on the door, caused Yuuko to hide next to Yumi's bed, out of view from whoever was at the door.

"Come in," Yumi said. Sakura and Fai walked in with worried looks on their faces.

"We heard a scream from your room, are you alright?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," she stole a quick glance at Yuuko.

"What happened?" Fai questioned.

"I just had a nightmare...a terrible nightmare," she sighed. Yuuko covered her mouth, to keep from giggling.

"What happened in it?" the princess wondered.

"Oh nothing," Yumi avoided answering.

"Was it that bad?" the wizard smiled, softly.

"Well...it wasn't completely horrible," she muttered. Yuuko flashed Yumi a grin and a thumbs-up, to which she sighed.

**Omake # 1**

"Mokona's been moving us around a lot, huh?" Fai laughed as Mokona dropped the five of us into a new world. "I'm starting to get pretty used to it," he said gleefully. "Well now, I wonder where we ended up this time-" he was cut off by the grumbling in Sakura-hime's, Syaoran's, and mine's stomach. We were all surprised at the sudden noise. "Guess we are all a little hungry," he smiled.

Mokona hopped onto my shoulder and pointed right in front of us, "Hey! It's a sushi shop! I ate this stuff with Yumi and Yuuko all of the time, right?" she looked at me, as if expecting an answer.

"Huh, yeah I guess," I said.

"Well none of Sakura-chan's feathers are here, but...leave it all to me! It'll be Mokona's treat!" she exclaimed.

"But...uh," Syaoran started.

"Hyuu~ Mokona you're so generous!"

aaa

"Here ya go! Tokujou sushi. Thanks for waiting," the chef said, as he placed wooden plates in front of each of us. Each plate had about twelve pieces of sushi. I picked up my chopsticks and lifted the piece of sushi with tuna on it.

"Okay everyone! Eat up!" Mokona instructed.

"Kay," I answered, dipping it in soy sauce, popping it in my mouth.

"Ehhhh, raw fish..." Fai mumbled.

"I had something like this in a country I visited with my father," Syaoran explained as he tried to calm Fai down.

"This is my first time," Sakura looked over the sushi, probably wondering what it was made of. I thought about telling her, but then she would make a big fuss about how we were eating dead fish.

"We eat these in Japan," Kurogane spoke. Fai didn't look like he was ever going to touch his food considering he was shivering.

"Soy sauccccccceee~ Soy sauce~" Mokona sang.

"I love tuna," I smiled, licking my lips.

"Ew, it even smells gross," Fai whined.

"Don't be such a baby," I said.

"Um, we don't have any of this countries money though..." Syaoran stared down at his sushi, deciding whether to eat it or not.

"This is yummy!" Sakura exclaimed.

"No bad," Kurogane shrugged his shoulders.

"Would you rather stay hungry until we get to the next world?" I turned towards the wizard. He nodded, making me sigh. "Don't breath through your nose, if you don't like the smell," I said.

"It's not just the smell, it looks gross," Fai said. I picked up a piece of his sushi, dipped it in soy sauce and shoved it in front of his face.

"Eat it," I ordered. He pushed my hand away.

"No thanks," he forced a smile.

"Eat. It," I ordered again.

"I'm good,"

"Eat it dammit!" I tried to shove it in his mouth, to which he turned away, so it came in contact with his cheek. I set the chopsticks down and got a napkin next to my plate. "Great," I murmured. A little soy sauce remained on his face, so I dabbed at it unconsciously with the napkin.

"Is it gone?" he asked, snapping me back into reality. Fai was smiling, and I realized what I was doing.

"Yeah," I muttered, turning away. "Just eat it when I say so next time," I said.

"R-Right," he said, thinking about how horrible sushi must taste. Kurogane, Sakura and Syaoran all looked at me.

"What?" I asked, munching on another piece of sushi.

"Cute~" I heard Mokona squeal. "Yumi loves Fai~ Yumi loves Fai~" she sang. I grabbed a piece of fish and flung it right at her. The unfortunate thing was that she saw it coming and her mouth caught it.

"That was nice of you Yumi-san," Sakura complimented.

"Yeah, sure" I answered. After we all finished out plates the five out of six of us, all simultaneously ordered. "Seconds!"

aaa

"...Well thanks Mokona," Fai said slowly.

"Here's your check," the chef held up a piece of paper with our bill on it.

"We really don't have any money of this country though," Syaoran said once again.

"EVERYONE HURRY INTO MY MOUTH!" Mokona said, and began sucking us in. Syaoran and Sakura's eyes widened. Before we knew it the five of us were already inside her mouth. "Thanks for the food," Mokona bowed in mid-air and wings spread, before she disappeared along with the rest of us.

"You're skipping out on the bill!" an angry chef shouted.

**Misty: Hope you all liked them ^^ Are you happy I made Yumi and Fai kiss? Even though it was an omake? Although their kiss in the actual story will be much different then that. **

**Yumi: So you want me to kiss him again?**

**Misty: The fans demand it. I checked the poll and 10 people voted in all. 9 people said that you guys should kiss, while only 1 person said no...Yumi did you hack my computer?**

**Yumi: ...no?**

**Misty: Then who else would have- *gasp* IT WAS ANGEL! That KuroFai lover...(I'm serious she is, she talks about it quite a bit at school.) **

**Sakura: Erm...hope you enjoyed. **

**Everyone: Have a wonderful holiday!**


	15. The Truth

**Yumi: So your finally back, huh? **

**Misty: T-T. I'm really sorry, I haven't had much time to write...but that's my excuse every time isn't it...Even my Gaia Online fish are dead. Even after they're gone I still get emails saying that they miss me. From Heaven perhaps? xD**

**Yumi: *sigh* you haven't been on in a year, what do you expect? Why can't you remember to feed your fish?**

**Misty: Um...actually...YOU forgot to feed them.**

**Yumi: Excuse me?**

**Misty: My username is Yumi Ichihara so...you forgot to feed them. What do you have to say for yourself?**

**Yumi: Oh no! Don't pin the blame on me!**

**

* * *

**

**The Truth**

If you want everyone's reactions in order, they go like this. Kurogane's mouth dropped along with the huge bag of flour the second he saw us. Sakura held a hand over her mouth with a surprised expression. She was also blushing. Mokona sat atop the princess's hat and was giggling like a mad man. She was laughing even more than before she was drunk. The shiroi manjuu fell to the wooden floor, rolling around. I opened my mouth, and then thought for a moment. I forced the blush from my face and tried to look as stoic as possible. "Ah. Hey guys, did you get the stuff?" I asked.

"W-W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BOTH DOING?" Kurogane screamed.

"We fell," Fai answered gleefully.

"Then get off," I hissed. He quickly complied and offered a hand. Ignoring him, I stood up by myself.

"Oh really? It looked like you were enjoying it," Mokona said, "Wait until Yuuko hears about this~"

"Tell her about this and I swear that I will rip those usagi ears of yours right off and make them into a devil food cake. When the customers ask about the taste I will say that I mixed actual devil ears...Got it shiroi manjuu?" I asked, venom dripping my words.

"Kyaaa!" she gripped her ears, running back to Sakura. I smirked triumphantly.

"Thank you for picking up the flour Big Dog~" Fai said.

"Tch. Whatever..." a knocking at the front door, interrupted whatever he was about to say next. "Come in!" he shouted. The door opened to reveal Yuzuriha-san, Kusanagi-san, and Souma-san.

"Hey everyone!" Yuzuriha saluted. "Do you mind if you stay open just a little bit longer?"

* * *

"Ah! Really, how can you get it to taste so good~" Yuzuriha questioned Fai, while shoveling another piece of chocolate into her awaiting mouth.

"Ryuu-oh is very late today," Kusanagi said, more to himself than any of us. "Hopefully he won't come to late..." All of a sudden, the door was flung open with Syaoran and the boy, Ryuu-oh out of breath.

"What's wrong?" Fai asked.

"We saw it...the new Oni..." Ryuu-oh said between breaths.

"YOU FOUGHT WITH IT?" Yuzuriha yelled.

"No, there were too many Oni's...so we ran for it...That guy...is really powerful," I noticed Syaoran's face pale for a moment.

"What man?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know him," Ryuu-oh mumbled. "I didn't get a good look at him,"

"I know who it is," I said abruptly. All eyes turned to me. "He is searching for two of my...acquaintances," I chose the right word carefully. "But knowing them...he'll never find them," I said.

"Syaoran-kun?" the princess questioned the dazed boy.

"The person who was with the Oni's, is someone that I also know. That person is the one who taught me how to fight,"

* * *

_Normal POV_

Three figures watched from outside of Yumi's bedroom window. Currently the blonde was asleep, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. "Look at her...how disgusting!" a feminine voice whispered harshly.

"She's been living with the humans for too long now," a male voice added.

"Yumi is starting to smell like them now..," the girl wrinkled her nose in repulsion.

"Do we have to bring her back?" another girl whispered. This girl's voice was much more delicate than the first. The girl almost seemed sympathetic. "I mean...it is her choice. Plus, she has a mission to complete,"

"Either she comes back soon...or she'll never be allowed to set foot in Heaven again,"

* * *

_Yumi POV_

I placed my hands around the cup and lifted it to my mouth. The familiar taste of Oolong cleared my mind. With all of last night's events, a good sleep was nice. My grip on the cup tightened, thinking about the…incident…that occurred last night. As long as no one brings it up-

"So~ Did you dream about Fai last night~" Mokona smiled. The only ones up at the moment were Kurogane-san and Fai-san, but they didn't seem to hear Mokona's little comment.

"Oi! Kurogane! Cook this for me," I held the rabbit up by her ears.

"Mokona doesn't want to become Mokona cake!" she squealed.

"Good morning! Sorry I'm late!" Syaoran came in, right behind Sakura.

"It's alright~ The pancakes are just about ready," Fai sang, flipping a hot cake into the air, and having in land perfectly back in the pan. Syaoran greeted Mokona good morning as well. Just when another pancake was flipped into the air, Kurogane's arm shot out, and grabbed it with his chopsticks.

"Suggoi~ Kuro-tan is like a ninja~"

"I AM A NINJA!" he retorted, trying to squish the little pork bun between his hands.

"So, what's the Doggie Duo's schedule for today?" the wizard asked, handing a plate to me, Sakura, and Syaoran. Kurogane took a quick glance at his partner.

"We go to City Hall," he answered, not missing a beat.

I drowned my pancakes in syrup, making sure a thick maple coat was covering them. Picking up my fork, I tore a piece away from the rest and popped it in my mouth. _Mmn! These are delicious~ _I thought. I had to admit that I had a major sweet tooth. Oh. _**HE**_ made these…great another reason to hate him…his cooking is delicious.

After we all finished breakfast, Sakura immediately scooped up my plate and dashed back to the kitchen much to my surprise. The faint sound of water running emitted from the room. I poked my head in through the door, seeing the princess scrubbing the dishes over a sink full of water and soap bubbles. "Sakura-hime? Do you want me to help?"

"Oh! I couldn't ask you to do that…" she began. I cut her off, by walking beside her and rolling up my sleeves.

"Too late," I smiled a very faint smile.

"But what about your wrist?" her emerald eyes filled with worry and concern. Examining it, a few words echoed in my mind. _"Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, Big Puppy, and I will be there too, you aren't doing this journey by yourself. You're not alone," _Thinking of his words, I frowned and my bangs brushed down in front of my eyes.

"You're wrong…" I whispered in an inaudible voice. _I'll always be alone. There's nothing you can say to make me feel different._

"Yumi-san?" I gasped, bringing my mind back to reality.

"Yes?"

"Is your wrist alright?"

"I'm fine," I gave her a weak, reassuring smile.

"But-"

"Yumi-chii is going to help me clean the counter," Fai cut in.

"I am?" he nodded, for his answer. "Fine," I heaved a sigh, rolling my sleeves back down and walked out. I decided that I wasn't going to talk to him, until he told me what he was hiding. Silently, I picked up a wash cloth and ran it up and down the counter at a fast pace.

"Yumi?" I ignored him. "Yumi-chan?" Just pretend he isn't there. "Canary-chan~ Why aren't you talking to me?" _Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. _"You're making me feel lonely," _I don't give a damn._ Fai sighed in defeat.

_Fai POV_

_ Jeez, what is it going to take for her to get to talk to me? _I frowned. She can get quite annoying. It looks like she's never going to talk to me. The magic emitting from her was very strong. If she gets any stronger…then I'll have to…_She's already on guard around me, so how am I going to get her to open up? I have to break down the barrier surrounding her heart. Yumi doesn't know that much, but that could take forever…I don't have time. Fai will wake up if-_

"You know…" Yumi's voice cut in. I turned back to her.

"Yes?" I smiled.

"I can read your mind," she smirked. _What? Does that mean she- _"Yep. I just heard everything you were thinking about,"

_Yumi POV_

A bluff. A complete bluff. I can't read minds…I don't use that kind of magic. Something tells me that he bought it. You could practically see the color drain from his face. Victoriously, I grinned.

"Oh really?" he asked, the smile back in place almost as if it never left.

"Yes. You have been hiding things from us. How could you?"

"What was I thinking about?" he challenged.

_ Shit. I didn't think about the possibility that he could ask. _"Um…" _Think of something!_ "I don't have to answer to you," I uttered.

"Of course you don't~ That's fine, your magic malfunctions aren't any of my concern," he grinned wide. _He's mocking me. Well fine, he doesn't have to believe me. I'll get answers one way or another. _I walked back into the kitchen to check on how Sakura-hime was doing. She and Mokona were scrubbing away at the dishes. "Don't work to fast Sakura-chan," Fai called in, popping his head in above mine.

"It's alright! I'll be done soon!" she called back.

"Keep it up!" Fai called, cheerily.

"I wasn't able to help much during the journey, so I thought if there was something I could do, I would do my very best. Even though…I can only lower the burden…a little…" Sakura began to lean back.

"Sakura ! Watch OUT!" Mokona cried, as the princess fainted back and Fai caught her.

"Sakura-chan really is a good child," he smiled to himself. Then a strange look crossed his face. Something like…sadness… "Unlike another girl I know who has been quite naughty," he chuckled. So much for that! I could feel a vein pop out, but I suppressed the urge to lash out. Instead, I bent down to Sakura and felt her forehead. _At least she doesn't have a fever. _I helped get her onto the couch while Fai went to go fetch a blanket from a closet.

"How's Sakura?" Mokona wondered.

"She's alright~ Just sleeping is all. She tried to stay awake throughout the entire day,"

"Hm? What is it?"

"When we were in the Country of the Lake you said, 'You can smile and be happy. No one would hate you for it,'"

"Yes? What about it?"

"It's the same for you Fai. No one will hate you for it. Not Sakura, not Syaoran, not Kuro-puu, not even Yumi,"

"But I'm always happy~" he smiled brightly and sang, hoisting Mokona high into the air.

"You are always thinking about something else when you smile…and because of that you're sad. Yumi-chan knows what it is and she wants to help-"

"Mokona," I whispered sharply. Fai didn't seem to hear the last part. He had a strange look of shock and surprise both mixed.

"Mokona, you're quite sharp," he smiled weakly.

"That is one of Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques~ I know that everyone is lonely. Syaoran, Kurogane, Yumi, and Fai. We all feel lonely. But you know…being together on this journey makes us all feel a bit less lonely. Sakura's smile makes us all feel warm and happy. That's why everyone should be happier,"

"That…would be nice…" he said quietly, giving Mokona a hug. The doorbell chimed.

"Wel-" Mokona began but stopped short. The wind forced the door of the Cat's Eye open and the end of a cloak fluttered in. My gaze moved upward to the persons face and I frowned. One of his eyes was colorless and instantly, I knew who it was. Fai glared at the man as well.

"Mokona, stay with Sakura-chan," he whispered barely audible. She hopped off of Fai's shoulder and made it to the couch arm.

"What can we do for you?" I asked, semi-pleasantly. By semi-pleasantly I mean I wore a stoic expression and asked as if he were a customer. Kicking his ass wasn't the best way to keep low.

"There are demon hunter's here, no?" he spoke with a cheerful demeanor.

"That's right, they just went out for a bit," Fai piped up, pushing me behind him. _What? He doesn't think I could take Seishiro?_

"Aren't you one of them?" he smiled.

"We just run this café," Fai returned Seishiro's smile.

"But you two contain magic power, do you not?" his mismatched eyes narrowed.

"What of it?" I spat.

"Nice to see you again too, Yumi," I simply glared back.

"So...why are you looking for the Doggie Duo?" the wizard questioned. Black swirls began to form behind Seishiro. The swirls materialized into great monsters, also known as Oni.

"I would like them to disappear," I noticed he grew a smirk.

"Oh? Might you be Seishiro-san? The one who taught Syaoran to fight?"

"So you know Syaoran?"

"Yes, the five of us are traveling together,"

"Traveling between worlds I assume?" Seishiro said. Neither of us had anything to say to that.

"How do you know our little Canary-chan?"

"We go far back... Although we didn't get off on good terms when she refused to answer my questions," he paused. "Syaoran doesn't have the power to travel between worlds. That means he made a pact with the Witch of Dimensions, huh?"

"The same with you though," I muttered.

"You seem to have very strong powers...Perhaps your ability to cross worlds is in your right eye?"

"You're pretty sharp," Seishiro admitted. "I exchanged for real right eye for this ability," The monstrous Oni loomed over us, just waiting for Seishiro's call to attack.

"However that eye is restricted to its number of uses. Particularly the amount of times you can warp," I said.

"You have a good memory. And, yes. That is why I use my power sparingly...all for the sake of catching up with those two," at that very moment, one of the Oni's swung at us, breaking a table in half. Fai and I dodged it easily.

"Yumi! Fai!" Mokona cried.

"Don't leave Sakura-san's side!" I shouted back. Fai narrowly dodged an attack to his head. I bent back to avoid an attack to my stomach.

"You're leg hurts doesn't it?" I landed right beside Fai. "Maybe you could escape if you used your magic powers..."

"I've already decided not to use my powers anymore~"

"What about you? What's stopping you from using your powers Yumi?"

"Tch. Only coward runs away from a fight!" I smirked confidently.

"Then I guess it can't be helped...Good-bye," Before he could move, an Oni's claw aimed straight for his throat. I managed to get out of the way, but the Oni covered my view.

"FAI!" Mokona screamed. My eyes widened..._What...wait...just...happened? _

"Eh?"

"I'm so sorry about you friend," Seishiro said, his voice full of fake sympathy. I found myself staring at the floor. A mix of emotions surged through me...but I couldn't tell what they were. _Don't worry, he is not dead. His life was not yet ended..._ a voice whispered in my ear. The voice was right. Somewhere...I still felt that annoying wizard's presence. A chuckle escaped from my lips. In fact, I ended up laughing.

"How dare that stupid Fai make me worry even the slightest about him," Seishiro had a look of surprise. "Don't misunderstand. The only thing I was upset about...was that you got to kill him first. I vowed that I would be the one to do the honors. But killing you," I charged two violet spheres in my hands, "Will be sufficient," I ran forward, jumping on the broken pieces of table throwing my magic one sphere after the other directly at the smiling man. Dodging the Oni wasn't an easy task, but I was able to keep them at bay while I aimed for their master. I did a quick front flip, charging up the most powerful magic that I could. My hand sparked with purple electricity. "This ends here!" I stopped in mid-air. My feet were still hovering off the ground, as I glanced down. A claw was protruding through my chest, holding me off of the floor. I gasped, and began to cough violently. The claw dropped me and I held a hand to stop the bleeding. "*cough* you sneaky bastard," I gasped out.

"You're right...it is the end," Moving my hand away, I saw that it was soaked in blood.

"Damn it," I croaked.

"At least you won't be in my way," Another Oni raised their long arm up in the air ready to strike. "I hope your wish…is never fulfilled…angel,"

"Wh-"

"YUMI!"

* * *

"Customer I.D number 43568 is dead," a robotic voice echoed. A faint repetitive beeping sound forced me into a groggy haze. Immediately recalling what happened, my fist lurched forward and came in contact with some glass, shattering it.

"Oops," was all I managed to get out. Taking in my surroundings, I noticed that I was in an egg-shaped pod...So what were we doing here? Various buttons of many colors rested on both sides of me. Out of curiosity I pushed every single button, until one finally forced the top of my prison open. The top uttered a hissing sound as it slowly opened up. Jumping out, my eyes scanned the rest of the spacious room to find many others also in pods. I saw Sakura, Kurogane, Syaoran, and even Mokona. "Where is F-"

"Awww~ Was Yumi-chan worried about me~"

"Gak!" his arms latched around my neck, nearly suffocating me. "F-Fai? What, how-"

"I had a feeling you might end up 'dieing' after me," he put air quotes around the word dieing.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well obviously we aren't dead,"

"I know that...but-"

"From what I've concluded, is that Outo wasn't entirely a real country," he stepped towards the door. "The real world that we have landed in, is much different," I pushed open the large door to find an amusement park that was incredibly huge. A Ferris Wheel and roller coaster were the first to catch my eye considering they were the tallest attractions.

"But why don't we remember-"

"Beats me~" he whistled.

"Please allow me to explain," a voice sounded from behind us. I spun around to see a woman with long dark hair reaching her ankles, and two circular white barrette's on her head.

"Who are you?" I asked

"Don't worry Yumi-chan~ She wont hurt us,"

"Shut up you-"

"If you two would come into my office for a moment please," the woman gestured towards us.

"Hm," I began but started to walk first. "Alright, but don't leave anything out,"

* * *

"Customer I.D number 43569 is dead..." Fai and I stood outside of Syaoran-kun's pod waiting for him to wake up as well. His eyes snapped open to reveal confused brown orbs. Fai knocked on the pod. Syaoran spotted the two of us and smiled.

"FAI-SAN! YUMI-SAN!" he cried. Syaoran found the correct button and pushed open the lid. Climbing out, the two of us led him away. "I'm glad...that you two are safe," he rubbed his head, confused and tired.

"Are you alright?" I asked. Syaoran nodded.

"Currently all three of us are dead in Outo Country. But, because we ended up dieing first, we were able to learn a few things. For example, this isn't Outo Country,"

"Eh?" Fai forced the door leading outside open wide so the brunette boy could have a look.

"Outo Country doesn't actually exist," I answered.

"Mm hm. This is Edonis Country's Fairy Park. After we left Jade Country, we landed in this park. It's a place where people of this country come to play," the three of us were casually walking through the park as if we did this everyday. Passing girl's faces flushed red as we passed. They began to whisper and giggle behind our backs.

"Have you seen that blonde guy?"

"Yeah, he is really hot~" they squealed. I paused, frowning. _What do all of these girls see in him? _

"Then Outo Country is-"

"A virtual reality. When you are inside the egg-pod everything is an illusion," I continued, "Living and fighting inside this virtual reality seems to be a popular game in this place,"

"But, that's not entirely true," Syaoran interjected.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The municipality controls the whereabouts of the demons. Demons only attack demon hunters...Now that I think about it, when Kurogane-san and I went to the Dwarf Tower there was this room made up of a demon. You couldn't kill it just by slashing at it. When I lit a fire the demon burned up,"

"Then the demon was gone?" Fai wondered.

"But the floor was still wet with water. Demons could be killed by fire but not demon hunters," we stopped in front of another door.

"I see, but that is really strange," Fai admitted.

"But why can't we remember anything from when we first arrived?"

"This is for tourists who first play in the Dream Capsule to enjoy themselves fully. We hope the customers will think of the virtual reality country as real. Therefore we must make certain adjustments according to each person's data," a feminine voice answered through the shadows of the room. Syaoran twitched all of a sudden and stared off into space.

"Do you remember now? The same thing happened to me," I said, as soon as Syaoran came back into reality.

"Because of that, we thought that Outo was a real country," Fai laughed. Syaoran looked down at his sword in his gloved hand.

"My name is Chitose," the woman said.

"She is-"

"The creator of the amusement park!" he interrupted. I swung my fist, hitting him directly on the head. "Owwww," he whined.

"Suck it up,"

"You're so harsh Yumi-chi~"

"I would like to know more about the man who is interfering with the Dream Capsule system. You know that man don't you?" Chitose asked Syaoran. "Please tell me anything about his man that you can,"

"Why do you want me to?"

"If things continue this way, this game will not end normally,"

"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow.

"This game...isn't safe. For example when you receive an injury inside virtual reality, you do not get any injuries in real life. It's like waking from a dream. Yumi-san I knew something was wrong when you were killed by that man. He is controlling the Fairy Park and the demons by messing with the game system. If this goes on then the dream will-" the earth began to shake outside. "All become a reality," she finished solemnly. Outside was pure chaos. Demons and Oni scattered through the park attacking random civilians and attractions. I scanned the numerous screens and found one monitoring our companions from Outo along with Sakura and Mokona.

"Syaoran-kun!" Fai shouted over noise.

"I have to find Sakura-hime!"

"There're right there!" I pointed at the screen.

"And Kurogane-san?"

"There's Kuro-puppy," Fai pointed at a different screen. Kurogane stood atop what was left of the Ferris Wheel and a few meters away was Seishiro riding one of his Oni minions. At an instant we all bolted out of the room. Syaoran clutched his sword tightly as he headed over to where we saw the group on the monitor.

"Ryuu-oh!" Syaoran yelled.

"Little Puppy!" he and Mokona cried, hugging him. "Thank goodness when we got separated, I never thought we would see each other again,"

"Because that world wasn't real?"

"You didn't know?" Yuzuriha wondered aloud, thinking it must be pretty idiotic not to know what you enter.

"We are traveling..." Fai replied. Mokona gave us both a hug as big as her little paws would allow.

"Sakura-hime..."

"She is just sleeping," Souma consoled him.

"Things don't look so peaceful around here anymore," Kusanagi muttered.

"Seishiro-san...is really serious about this," Syaoran clenched his teeth. Kurogane lunged at Seishiro swinging his sword at him one blow after the other. Their sword met as they exchanged hateful glances.

"I'm going up there," I said quickly.

"No! You can't!" Ryuu-oh protested.

"He's right, you have no idea how powerful he is," Fai added.

I sighed. "Fine...KUROGANE-SAN! WATCH OUT!" I screamed. He nearly dodged a fatal blow that could have cut off his head. An arrow was flung and landed neatly in the ground between the two men.

"What the hell?" I heard him say.

"Woohoo! The thing came right out of Mokona's mouth!" Fai clapped.

"You guys!"

"Over here Kuro-sama!" he waved excitedly.

"It seems those three...are alright after all," Seishiro muttered, displeased.

"What's going on?" Kurogane demanded. A white light shined from Seishiro's chest. Around the same time, Mokona's eyes became really wide. A glimmering white feather emerged and Seishiro grasped it.

"SAKURA-HIME'S FEATHER! Why does he have-"

"I can't control this feather, but even so our fight is not over yet," Seishiro smirked. He levitated a piece of rock that he was standing on, up and away from Kurogane.

"That's it!" Chitose cried. "That thing he is holding is emitting a powerful amount of energy! That thing is turning the world of Outo into reality!" Building I recognized from Outo were materializing out of thin air and swirling around Seishiro as if he were the center of the universe. Syaoran hopped on pieces of falling debris to climb up to Seishiro's platform. He tried to reach for the feather when another person's form caught his attention.

"Who is that?" I asked aloud.

"The Level I-1 Oni has shown itself," the one-eyed man remarked. A woman with black curly hair appeared and winked.

"You found me," was all she said. _So she was the strongest demon all along?_ _Who is she?_ Fai and Kurogane gasped.

"Do you know her?"

"Yeah, she was the singer at the Clover bar," he said. "Her name's Ohura-san!"

"Why is that woman with the demons?" Kurogane bellowed.

"I never thought that I would make an appearance like this either," I heard her say, Ohura's black dress, flowing in the wind.

"My apologies," Seishiro said.

"But it can't be helped. When these seemingly powerful Oni hunters came to collect information, they talked about you, that's how I realized it," she replied.

"That mean's all of the information you gave...," the wizard began.

"A lie?" the ninja glowered.

"Not all of it," she smiled. The wind was too strong; it drowned out my hearing, and forced my eyes shut. Damnit, I can't hear...I heard incoherent words but it was all jumbled in my ears. The sight of a smiling blonde boy, made me jolt upright. Who...

"Is your real name...Subaru?" I narrowed my eyes. _Heh, looks like you're not going to find Kamui or Subaru here. _The woman declined. Also to the question if she knew about the vampire twins.

"I'm the one who created the Fairy Park system. Granting eternal life means...the one who can defeat me, the most powerful Oni, will be granted invincibility in Outo. It means the winner is granted, the power of never being destroyed under any circumstances,"

"Well...if those two aren't here then there is no point in staying any longer," With that said, I ran up, climbing on pieces of broken building and hoisting myself to where that despicable man stood.

"Please wait!" Syaoran screamed. "That feather...I'm on a journey to find those feathers!"

"This doesn't belong to you, Syaoran-kun,"

"This is something very important...to the person most precious to me!"

"I cannot return this. I'm sorry," he said with no hint of even fake sympathy in his voice. "Do you wish to fight me?"

"At the moment...he does not. As for me..."

"Yumi-san?"

"I don't mind where I kill you," I finished.

"You have that same hint of determination as your father,"

"My father?"

"Ah, yes you have no memories of your childhood. Yuuko is giving them back to you though, yes?" I nodded once. "That's nice,"

"Why did you call me that? Back in the café!"

"Hm? Angel? You'll find out soon enough," he grinned, pleasantly. I threw a beam at him, which he moved out of the way of. Leaping closer to him, I threw a punch. Throwing another one, I swung my body and thrusted my leg out to kick him. My body felt light as I moved quickly and easily. "You're using the same style as those vampires," he glared.

"They are the ones who taught me to fight!" My foot came in contact with his stomach to which he stumbled back. Getting ready to do the same, he saw it coming and instead grabbed my leg. "Ah!"

"But your moves are predictable!" he threw me like a rag doll as I landed hard on my side on my right arm. I bit my tongue to keep from shrieking.

"Yumi-san!" Syaoran came rushing to my aid. He helped me sit upright.

"I'm fine," I said. Syaoran unsheathed his own sword he purchased from Outo Country. Flames licked the blade, swinging at his former teacher. Ready to slice him in half, his sword instead hit the ground.

"The Sword of Flame huh? It suits you Syaoran. Without a doubt you'll become stronger. Later you will encounter many things and become very very strong. Even though right now, things do not happen as you wish, the strength you have will guide and support you," Yuuko's magic circle appeared in his right colorless eye. "If you are searching for this. We should be able to meet again. That's why...Until then, Syaoran-kun..." his body began to evaporate and fade.

"Seishiro-san!" He tried to stop him, but it was too late. I gripped my arm, the good news is, my wrist pain was gone. The bad news, my arm feels like its burning. Ignoring it the best I could, I forced myself up. _Good job, Yumi-san..._

"Eh?" I spun around to face the owner of the voice, I had heard twice but found no one. Who is that person?

"Mokona?" I heard Fai ask. Mokona was growing her large wings once again. Time to move to the next world, I suppose. Returning to the others, I stood beside Yuzuriha.

"What the-?" Ryuu-oh was completely shocked.

"Mokona is being pulled by Seishiro-san's magic. Is it because the power came from the witch, or that the power source is the same?" Fai asked himself. "Thank you very much for taking care of Sakura-chan," he took the princess into his arms from Kusanagi. "Kuro-rin! Syaoran-kun! It's time to say good-bye to this world," he said. Mokona's wings began to spread out farther. Chitose looked up with a curious expression.

"What do you mean by 'good-bye'?" Ryuu-oh yelled.

"Please wait!" Yuzuriha added. "Canary-chan!" she called to me.

"Yes?"

"Please give me the recipe to your chocolate!" she cried, shaking me back and forth.

"Eh?"

"Well, it was really good! And please tell Little Kitty that I said good-bye," My waitress Outo uniform de-pixilated and revealed my normal tan cloak, my tan boots, black skirt and violet blouse. Reaching into my pocket, I was surprised to find the recipe Fai had given to me earlier.

"Here," I handed the piece of paper to the girl. "I hope you enjoy them, Yuzuriha-san,"

"Thank you!" she bowed. We began to fade, and then Yuzuriha suddenly rushed over to Sakura, making me utter the smallest chuckle.

"Canary-san!" Souma called, waving to me. "I wish you all the best of luck," she smiled.

"You too," I tried to reflect her smile, before we were all sucked into Mokona's mouth. As we were traveling through the tunnel to the next world, I couldn't help but think about all that had happened. I learned something's from my new memories...the girl I ran into in Outo with the talking stuffed dog...and the voice I heard. It seems that when I take one step closer to the truth about who I really am, I take ten steps back...I couldn't help but feel...lonely... _"You're not alone..."_ I smiled, in remembrance. As much as I hated to admit it...I really wanted to believe it. _Maybe...he isn't such a bad guy after all..._

_Normal POV_

Unbeknownst to Yumi, someone was in fact watching her and whispering to her. It was against everything that that person believed in, but he just had to talk to her. _I hope you keep safe, Yumi-chan..._the man thought, _And please...take care of my brother..._

_

* * *

_

**Misty: ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

**Yumi: *slaps head with a leek* Wake up!**

**Misty: Owwwww...what?**

**Yumi: It's the end of the chapter.**

**Misty: So?**

**Yumi: *sighs***

**Misty: Oh! Thank you for being patient with me for so long. If I don't post in about a month or more, message me telling me to get off my lazy ass XD. Don't be afraid I won't be offended.**

**Yumi: Especially because it's true...**

**Misty: Watch your mouth! **


	16. The Split Sky

**Misty: New chapter! Woohoo~ I wasn't able to update for a while, cause my class went to Washington D.C! And…it was freakin cold! X3 (Sorry I skipped the Bunny/ Forest country thing...I don't remember what it was called ^^;) **

**Yuuko: Misty-chan, didn't you get a pound of jelly beans as well?**

**Misty: Wah-? Oh! My enemy bought me a fricken pound of jelly bellies when I said less than a half was good. I should be grateful...or he is just trying to get me fat...I posted a new poll, asking you to pick what you think Yumi is and who her parents are. The choices got jumbled up but pick one thing she is (Angel, Demon, Witch, Spirit) Pick a person who you think is her biological parent (Yuuko, Sakura, Tomoyo, Kohaku, Kobato) TY. ^^**

* * *

**The Split Sky**

"We're lost aren't we? I hope Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, and Mokona are okay," the wizard laughed, attempting to lighten the tension between his two silent companions. "Hey~ Are you two angry?" The ninja shrouded in black grunted, as the other blonde mage **(A/N I call her this just because she uses magic)** frowned. "Is it because you didn't get to fight again~?" he pressed. "The demon just ended up to be a tornado huh? That is to say, don't you think that country was a little strange?" Fai tapped his chin.

"What?" Kurogane asked.

"There were a lot of warm climate trees growing in that place with really large leaves. So it was considerably hot there,"

"So?" Yumi finally began to speak.

"Well, the people living in that place were covered with thick fur, isn't it strange for residents of a country to be like that? So when Yumi-chan and I stayed behind. And then, even though they said that they have always been living there and their houses had been destroyed by the tornado, they weren't always there. Also, although the feather was close, the fact that Mokona didn't sense it was rather strange,"

"They said it fell and they gave it to us...If they had just been carrying, then Mokona would have noticed it. That is what she was created to do," Yumi added.

"Someone's plan?" Kurogane wondered.

"Perhaps. Even if Sakura-chan could hear the voice of the tornado, I feel those cute people's demeanor was skillfully deceiving...You're not surprised?" he smirked.

"There have been a number of times when I've felt that someone was watching us...ever since we started this journey," Kurogane put in. "A place like the shop of the Dimensional Witch,"

"That place really was amazing," Fai's eyes clouded over for a short period of time, causing Yumi to stare. "Why didn't you say anything to Syaoran-kun?"

"Even if I said something it's no use, we don't know who our enemy is," he retorted.

"You don't want to make him paranoid? Aww~ Kuro-sama is so nice!"

"Don't decide that on your own!" the ninja took a quick glance at the silent girl. "I know brat, that you know more than you're letting on,"

"Whatever do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"I know you and that idiot wizard are keeping secrets from the rest of us, but even so, when one of your little secrets puts our lives in danger I'll assure you it will not be pleasant for you,"

"It that a threat or a promise?" Yumi smirked.

Kurogane grinned, "Both,"

"Oooh~ Kuro-pii is being mean again!" In front of the three travelers a large group of men with sun glasses and headbands stepped out from their hiding places, blocking them.

"Who the hell are you?" Kurogane questioned.

"Underlings of the Yuuka district, huh?" one of the men stated.

"This is a Shrine! This is no place for things from the Yuuka district!"

"Yuuka?" Fai tapped his chin with a look of confusion. "Shrine?" While Fai was sounding out these unfamiliar words, Kurogane and Yumi grew agitated.

"Don't play dumb!" the men charged with their swords at the ready.

"You guys drew first; no matter how it turns out…don't complain!" Kurogane grew a devilish grin. Within seconds half of the men were flying through the air and falling disgracefully to the concrete path.

"That was great, Kuro-pyuu~" Fai clapped. Yumi sighed at his behavior.

"You both look like idiots," Kurogane glared while the wizard and the mage began to mess with his sword.

"Hey, I couldn't be a bother to Kuro-tan's great flurry of action,"

"Great flurry of action?" Yumi repeated to herself with a disgusted face.

"D-Damn it…Get them!" the remaining men started again. Yumi stepped forward, raising her hand and purple strikes of lightning were charging at her gloved palms.

"Stop," a voice called, silencing the attacking party. A man with light green hair in a side ponytail, glasses, and a kind smile stood at the top of the stairs leading to the shrine.

"Who?" the ninja glowered.

"Souseki-sama!"

"Master!" various men called at once.

"Somehow those intruders broke in! How did they break through the Kekkai?" one directed his hand to a rope with paper flags hanging. "They must not be ordinary people!"

"We didn't break it. We just landed inside the Kekkai from Mokona's mouth. You wouldn't understand…" Fai tried to explain.

"No matter what, our people were violent to you. We are very sorry," Souseki bowed as an apology.

"It's alright, This guy is very aggressive so it would make sense that you would attack us," Yumi pointed at Kurogane and said so in an emotionless voice.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

"You three are not from Shara?" he asked.

"Travelers?" the men asked themselves. "Two men and one girl? How old is she? 12?"

"I'M 17!" she growled.

"I thought you were 16," Kurogane asked.

"My birthday already passed back in Japan," she explained, exasperatedly.

"There are two others…Wait actually there are three," Fai held up two fingers then switched to three.

"So you have companions? Where are you going to meet them?" Souseki wondered.

"We haven't seen them yet…So we have to find them,"

"I'm sure they are trying to find you as well. If that is so, you should find a place to rest. Would you like to stay here?"

"Master you can't let these suspicious people stay with us!" the men shouted in protest.

"We met by fate, how we can call this a shrine if we don't help out,"

"Master!"

"What kind of place is this?"

"It's a shrine," Yumi repeated Souseki.

"A place to worship gods," Kurogane continued.

"We don't protect gods, but we protect people," Souseki added.

* * *

"This is a very beautiful place. Not only the buildings, but the air here is so fresh," Fai commented.

"This shrine has been protecting this country for a long time,"

"From what?"

"From everything! It protects us from enemies, diseases, disasters, and other things!" the group of men following the four very closely, shouted.

"The people who protect this shrine are Souseki's family!"

"Every generation will be people with great power!"

"Whoever has the greatest power will become the master!"

"It's similar to Shinto Shrines and Shinto Priests," Souseki cut in.

"Shinto Priests?" Fai asked, tilting his head to the side.

"People who serve god and protect their shrines," the ninja answered, annoyed.

"So you have those in Japan as well?"

"We have shrines, but not Shinto Priests. Instead we have a Maiden Princess,"

"Tomoyo-hime? The one who sent you away?"Yumi asked, while looking out at the stone garden.

"Yeah…"

"If you don't know about the shrines of Shara then you must be from far away," a man smirked.

"That's right…Got a problem with that?" Yumi asked, seeming to grow taller at every second to the men.

"N-N-No Ma'm!" they shouted.

"Something seems weird," Fai said, looking over left and right.

"How come?" Souseki asked.

"Not only around here…but over there," he pointed off to a large ornate door. "Is it a Kekkai too? Besides that there is an even stronger force. It's protecting something inside…"

"A moment ago…your swordsman ship, your intuition, and the power you were conjuring up…you three can not be ordinary travelers. Maybe this is also fate…" Souseki's gaze turned to the wooden boardwalk. "Let me explain it too you," he opened the large door. "The things that are happening right now… The story of the statue of Yasha," A line of blood coming from the statue's right eye caused Kurogane, Fai, and Yumi's eyes to widen.

"Blood?"

* * *

(Yumi POV)

_It's crying…blood? _I thought to myself, drowning out the explanation Souseki was delivering. _How strange…The statue of Yasha…_I perked up when I heard Souseki mention the second statue was named Ashura. _I wonder how he feels about that. _Stepping closer, I eyed it suspiciously. There was some kind of magic radiating off of it but it wasn't any kind I've studied. All I could understand about the statue was its emotion of sorrow.

"Souseki-sama. It's time for the ceremony," a man called from inside the shrine I a similar robe to Souseki's.

"I'm leaving now. I believe that there must be some reason for you travelers to come to this shrine at this particular time. Before you go to meet up with our friends, please stay here and rest," Souseki turned to leave, but then paused to turn back around to me. "Uh, miss?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Women are not common to have in this shrine…so just be careful…" he finished and followed his friend indoors. Three of the men who attacked us stayed put and stared at me angrily.

"What?" I asked irritably.

"We don't like having women in our shrine!" one burst out. I glared.

"Deal with it!"

"Come on, she hardly even looks like a girl," Kurogane complained.

"WHAT?"

"I mean her chest is as flat as a board…no wonder you mistook her for a 12-year old," Fai added.

"Y-Y-Y-YOU BASTARDS!" I screeched my face burning with embarrassment, throwing punches and kicks at the two.

* * *

"We're sorry Yumi-chan," Fai apologized, still smiling.

"Whatever,"

"But it is true," Kurogane quickly dodged my fist as it zeroed in on his face. _I knew it was true…17 and Sakura and I have nearly identical bodies. I hate them for bringing it up. _

"Shut up!" Souseki had led us to the room we would be staying in and given us a change of clothes. They didn't have any woman ones, but they gave me the smallest man robe. It was dark blue with dark purple lines running down the back and a purple ribbon to tie my waist. It was bunched on the floor and the sleeves were very long, so I used another purple ribbon to tie the sleeves back. Kurogane and Fai had asked for something to drink and they brought three crates of whiskey, which made me sick just to look at. Fai offered me a bottle to which I quickly declined.

"You don't like alcohol?"

"I just…can't drink it," I said defiantly.

"Why? I wonder what Yumi-chan is like when she's drunk…" he tapped his chin thoughtfully, grinning.

"None of your business!" I scanned the room. I need water or something… My eyes fell upon a bottle of clear liquid which looked a lot like water. Picking it up, I examined it a bit closer and swallowed about a tablespoon.

"Uh, brat…that's not-"

I spit it out. It was definitely NOT water. Wiping my mouth, I frowned. More vodka huh…But it wasn't that bad. I took another sip.

"Brat?" Ignoring him, I drank even more. "I thought you-"

"I'm thirsty," I cut him off. Within seconds the bottle was gone and I smiled. "Kuro looks like a puppy! So cute~" I scratched his head.

"Gah! What's your problem!"

"What do you mean? What's wrong with you?" I smacked him on the back of the head hard.

"Ow! Jeez, what's wrong?"

"I think Yumi-chan's drunk," Fai answered gleefully.

"O-Oh…I'm really sorry Kurogane-san…please forgive me," I began to cry. "Waaahhh! Kuro-chan hates me!"

"CALM DOWN!"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" I screeched, hiccupping. "Always telling people, hic, what to do, hic, I should rearrange ur face or sumthin…" I walked over to Fai and stared at him.

"I love you," I smiled brightly. Kurogane nearly doubled over.

"Don't say things like that!"

"I love you too Kurgy, hic," He sighed.

"She's bipolar when she's drunk," Fai laughed.

"And ten times more annoying," Kurogane grumbled while I hugged him.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!"

"P-Please don't yell at me," tears sprung into my eyes again.

"Don't be mean Kuro-sama," Fai watched in amusement as Kurogane tried to calm me down. "After all, it's not everyday we see her like this,"

"Fai-kun~ Kuro-kun~ Stop being suuuuuuucccchhhhh idiiiioooooottttts…" I fell back on the floor, blacking out.

* * *

_Yumi's purple stone necklace emitted a strong violet glow, just as the knife was nearing her eye. "AAAARRRRGGG!" her adoptive mother flailed back in horror, dropping the knife. The young 8 year old blonde gasped, now without having her mother pinning her down, she was able to roll out from under it. The knife now stood where her head was previously, snagging her long hair and chopping it off in an uneven and scraggily way. Yumi coughed and began to rub her throat. _

"_DON'T JUST STAND THERE IDIOT! I CAN'T EVEN GET CLOSE TO HER! ATTACK THIS INSTANT!" Fei Wong screamed at his creation. The mother rubbed viciously at her eyes and eyed her adoptive daughter fiercely. She recoiled in fear, but went with her first instinct. To run. She ran out the front door as quickly as possible attempting to leave behind everything she hated. Her tear stained face glistened against the moon. The gray night sky also began to reflect Yumi's pain by beginning to rain. She was too scared to look back, but she was certain that her mother was following her. Her 'mothers' murderous energy was quite easy to sense. The rain clouded her violet eyes, causing Yumi to trip and scrape her knee. The blonde cried out in pain, but forced herself to stand back up and continue running. "Yumi is escaping you fools! Follow her! Destroy her!" Fighting the urge not to, she forced herself to look back. At what she saw, she gasped. Many of the townspeople were following in close pursuit. Their eyes were literally glowing red in addition. Yumi felt even more tears stinging and threatening to spill over, with the fact that she was hated by so many people and her recent injury. She turned a sharp corner down a dark alley. Hoping she could hide but instead found a dead end. "Where am I supposed to go now?" she cried. Yumi pushed on the wall, expecting to find a secret door or something. In an instant her arm was yanked up as she was slammed against the wall, face first. Lightning crackled and thunder roared in the gray sky above. She felt the side of her face pressed forcefully on the dirty brick wall and her arm being twisted behind her back. _

"_Die!" everyone cried. _

"_N-NO! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" Yumi screamed, not bothering to hold back the tears anymore. A girl around Yumi's age walked up to her. Yumi's eyes widened, despite the rain blurring her vision. "M-Midori-chan?" Midori has been the nicest one to Yumi ever since she joined the school. While the other kids laughed, taunted, teased, bullied and hurt her, Midori was there to comfort her. She was the same one who gave her the flowers to take home. "M-Midori! Please help me!" The girl just stayed silent. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled something from behind her. A rifle. "w-what?" Midori smirked and handed it to a close by townsman. He smirked as well, took the rifle and aimed it directly so it would shoot poor Yumi directly in the head. Her necklace shone one more, but instead of just glowing it projected a magic symbol on the wall opposite of its owner. The symbol was large, purple and consisted of a set of circles, an eye in the middle, and other strange smaller symbols inside. Wind tore through the alley, causing the man to drop his gun and Yumi, to shield his eyes. The young blonde fell to the grimy ground with a cry of pain. The rain began to pour harder. Out of the circle, a tall woman emerged. As she walked out of the circle completely, Yumi was able to force her head up to see the mysterious woman. She had long black hair tied up with a long white and black dress that fell to the ground. In her hair, were two long white sticks that protruded from the side of her head, dangling white ribbons. She wore a black moon necklace and the sleeves on her dress were considerably long. "w-who?" Yumi mumbled in a weak voice. The woman stared at her with a sympathetic look in her eyes._

"_The witch!" Fei Wong questioned incredulously. The woman glared at the man in response. The townspeople raised all of their weapons and aimed it at the 'witch.' The ones with guns all shot at once and continued to do so. The method proved not effective as the bullets evaporated as soon as they got a foot away from the woman. _

"_Fei Wong. Don't you think that you should fight your battles yourself instead of hiding behind your puppets? Creating a fake town with artificial residents is low even for a man like you," the woman spoke. As if to prove her point she snapped her fingers, causing the townspeople to begin to melt. The townspeople melted away until they were nothing. Midori, who hasn't melted completely yet, grasped Yumi's leg. She screamed. _

"_I've…always…hated you…" she muttered before turning into nothing. Yumi shook with fear and overwhelming sadness. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, and her heart nearly stopped beating. The town around the remaining three crumbled and started to collapse. As if it were a mirror, pieces of the town fell off like it was being shattered. The pieces left behind nothing but darkness. When the town was gone and only black enclosed Fei Wong, the woman, and Yumi. _

"_So I couldn't get to her in time, very well. In any case, my plan will still be carried out, Yuuko," he slashed the air, leaving a dimensional tear. After he stepped through, only Yuuko and Yumi were left. Yumi raised a shaking hand to the right side of her face. When she looked at her hand, a red, warm, sticky liquid was present on her fingers along with her still pouring tears. She swallowed to hold back a shriek. Pain shot through her other arm, which was broken due to the pressure and the twisting. Her breathing became uneven as she tried to process everything she just saw._

"_Yumi…" Yuuko knelt down beside the trembling girl and reached out to touch her. She flinched at the on coming contact and crawled painfully away. "I won't hurt you,"_

"_LIAR!" she cried angrily. "Everyone…everyone…always…they always hit me…made fun of me…why…WHY? What have I done wrong? Why did my one friend have to turn against me? I hate her…I HATE EVERYONE!" the girl panted, out of breath. Tears of sadness and loneliness rolled down her cheeks. Yuuko just sat with an expressionless face. "i…just want to be a good…child…" as she was saying those words Yumi started to slip out of consciousness. Before she could finish her sentence, she fell to the ground. Yuuko stood back up and picked the sleeping Yumi up. _

"_You didn't deserve this, I know," Yuuko said directed to Yumi. "I promise I'll take care of your daughter," the woman said while staring up into a sky of black. The same magic circle appeared once more, hovering right in front of the woman. Yuuko looked around once more with narrowed eyes. When finding nothing else, she stepped through the portal._

* * *

"We drank all night~ The wine in this country is so delicious~ I would drink more if they had any left," Fai chuckled. I put my hands on my head, trying to stop the pounding and pressure and to push away that nightmare. I had a terrible hangover…We were sitting in a circle of empty wine bottles, even the smell made me dizzy.

"No more for you Yumi-chan. You screamed in your sleep quite a bit,"

"I…did?"

"Yup. You must have been having a nightmare," He seemed oddly happy about it...

"When we were in Outo was that all an act?" Kurogane asked.

"What?"

"When you got drunk and started mewing all over the place?"

"That was real~ Not that we were really drinking. It only happened to be a game. It felt as though someone put a spell on me. You're making such a suspicious face…you probably think I'm lying!"

"Yeah,"

"I knew it,"

"Even so it's not my business. Seems to me that you don't plan to speak honestly,"

"Maybe I will…What are you talking about anyway?"

"When that guy Souseki, was talking about the Statue of Yasha, he mentioned the name 'Ashura' Your face suddenly turned pale was that?"

"Because Ashura is the man Fai-" A pale hand was clamped around my mouth, but the owner said nothing else. A knock at the door, changed his mood.

"Come in~"

"Sorry to disturb you, but there were severe earthquakes last night. Are any of you injured?"

"Nope. By the way the wine you sent us was really good!"

"If you don't mind would you three join me for breakfast?"

"Of course. What about you Kuro-sama?"

Souseki led us out onto the boardwalk to the breakfast room I suppose, but I had to clutch the rail to stay upright. I noticed Fai give Kurogane a strange look and steered off course. I was led to the small koi pond in the stone garden. I sat down carefully and stared down at the fish swimming around. Sighing, I was relived that the pressure had gone away but a faint pounding remained. "I'm never drinking again," I muttered. I sensed movement to my right, stood up and started to spin around. _Ah dizzy…_I straightened myself to find myself staring at Fai. "What is it?" Clutching my head I squinted in confusion. _Why is Fai wearing his coat? When did he change, er, WHY did he change?_ "Fai?" He blinked in surprise and pointed at him self. "Who else would I be talking too?" Fai smiled, stepping towards me. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. "Is something wrong?" He shook his head and smiled sadly. My eyes widened. "You're not-"

"Yumi-chan!" I tore my gaze away to see Fai coming up to me. "We need to meet Souseki-san for breakfast,"

"Hold on a sec-" I turned back to face the one I was previously talking too, but he was gone. "Where-"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I began to walk ahead of him.

* * *

"These are really hard to use," Fai tried picking up a piece of chicken but it slipped from his chopsticks.

"You don't know how to use chopsticks?" Souseki asked.

"Sorry,"

"No matter, just eat like this," Souseki stabbed his chicken with both of his chopsticks and Fai did the same.

"Souseki-sama!" some of his guards burst in through the door.

"I'm dining with our guests,"

"Sorry but, those girls in the Yuuka district sent us flying," one man trudged in looking like he got beat up pretty badly. "There was this kid with an amazing kick!" We all paused eating. "She was one of the best fighters I've ever seen!" I shook my head. Probably wasn't Syaoran…

"I thought they were talking about Syaoran-kun, but I guess I was wrong," Fai said what we were all thinking out loud. I wonder where Syaoran-kun and the others are. If we can still understand each other then they can't be far…"

* * *

The ground rumbled beneath me and everyone at the shrine. The strangest thing was that the sky was splitting in two. I grinned; I couldn't believe how calm I was. "There's a hole I the sky! What's happening?"

"It has something to do with the Statue of Ashura!"

"That's right! It has to be behind this!"

"I can't take it anymore! We have to destroy the statue!" Avoiding the men, I started off to the Statue of Yasha.

"Does this have anything to do with Sakura-hime's feather?" Kurogane and Fai stared up at the sky.

"I don't know…but…On the other side of the sky, I can sense a horrible force," We all followed Souseki to the Statue and saw it crying blood once again. Kurogane unsheathed his sword.

"I can sense a strong force of death,"

"On the other side of the sky…And its moving this way," Wind swirled around the three of us. This could only mean that Mokona is taking us somewhere else… "Huh?"

"What's going on?" Kurogane shouted.

"Mokona is taking us to another location," I answered.

* * *

"YUMI-SAN!" I had a faint feeling of being shaken back and forth. "Yumi-san please wake up," a feminine voice said softly.

"Ngh...Uh, Sa...kura-san?" It felt like my hangover was slowly coming back. Sitting up I rubbed my back. It felt like I fell on something hard.

"Good you're awake. Please help me wake up Syaoran-kun!" Sakura-hime crawled back over to a sleeping...girl? Oh...

"Syaoran-kun?" I joined the princess next to where Syaoran lay and examined him closer. It in fact was Syaoran...Why was he wearing a skirt and a braided wig?

"Syaoran-kun! Are you okay?" Clenching his teeth, he forced himself awake.

"I'm fine," his brown gaze darted to me then back to Sakura. "Yumi-san is here too? What about Kurogane-san and Fai-san?"

"I don't know. I was with them when Mokona sucked us back in,"

Mokona floated down gracefully like a feather to my hands. She looked worn out. "Is Moko-chan alright too?"

"Children?" another feminine voice drifted from behind us. I stood protectively in front of the two and glared at the woman's shadow. "How did you get here?" Her long raven hair was tied from the top of her head and elegantly fluttered beside her. I also noticed the sword she was carrying and the dragon she was perched upon. For the first time we all took a look around. Men with two different sets of armor were battling each other to the death. They were mercilessly trying to kill each other.

"Ashura-ou, are you alright?" a man with similar armor as the woman's came up behind her. _Ashura hm? She certainly doesn't look like Fai's Ashura. _

"I'm fine. The war against the Tribe of Yasha is not over yet," three men riding their own dragons but with different armor came racing off of a cliff.

"Kurogane-san? Fai-san?"

* * *

**Misty: So err-**

**Yumi: You're making me act like an idiot.**

**Misty: Uh huh...I realized that I have to put more romance in...I just haven't been given opportunity. *tear slides down***

**Yumi: It's enough!**

**Misty: No, no it's not. **

**Yumi: You-**

**Misty: Ah ah ah *wages finger in Yumi's face***

**Yumi: Shut up.**

**Misty: Please review or she will bite you x3**

**Yumi: *bite's Misty's finger***

**Misty: AHH! Jeez!**


	17. War of Ashura and Yasha

**Misty: Uke.**

**Yumi: Seme!**

**Misty: UKE!**

**Yumi: SEME!**

**Kurogane: What the hell are you going on about?**

**Yumi: For some deluded reason, Misty-san thinks that I would be an Uke in a pairing with Fai! An UKE!**

**Kurogane: What is-?**

**Misty: A Seme is the one in the relationship who is more controlling or dominant and an Uke is the meek one who sits and takes it with an embarrassed/flustered expression. **

**Yumi: And she seriously thinks I would be an UKE!**

**Misty: Here's my theory involving everyone in Tsubasa/XXXHOLIC.**

**Sakura and Yumi: Seme**

**Kurogane and Yumi: Uke**

**Syaoran and Yumi: Seme**

**Fai and Yumi: Uke (XD)**

**Watanuki and Yumi: Seme**

**Himawari and Yumi: Seme**

**Doumeki and Yumi: ...I actually don't know...since they have straight faces most of the time...I'd have to say Uke.**

**Yumi: Why the hell did you involve Yuri pairings?**

**Misty: I don't know :) But for some reason I can imagine Fai the seme in your relationship... **

**Yumi: ...What sick things are you planning?**

**Misty: Nothing...*thinks for a moment* Yeah, nothing.**

**Yumi: Uh huh.**

**Misty: On with the chapter!**

**Yumi: Wait a sec-**

* * *

**War of Ashura and Yasha**

I stared up at the Kurogane and Fai doppelgangers through squinted eyes. _They could be the same ones we know, but...their eyes are black..._Syaoran and Sakura stared up at the two with shocked faces.

"The moon has risen. Today's fighting shall draw to a close," the woman murmured as the large glowing moon seemed to grow bigger each second. A gentle breeze ruffled my hair and robe but within a short amount of time, the bloody battle field was gone. The size of the moon reduced significantly to my surprise.

"Weren't we in another place just a second ago?" Sakura exclaimed.

"We can only reside there until the moon reaches the center of the sky. Indeed it is over there, but...it is only when the moon appears in the night sky before is reaches it's zenith, can we be summoned there,"

"In the sky there's a castle! Did we just come from there?" Sakura asked frantically.

"But why are you fighting a war?" Syaoran wondered.

"Enough of this! Why do you pretend to know nothing about the war of the moon? Are you not members of the Yasha clan?" the same man from before shouted, pointing his sword at me so the tip rested against my throat.

"If they were members of the Yasha clan, then their eyes would be jet black. These children have amber, jade green, and violet eyes,"

"But-"

"Kumara. Take these children to my castle," she gave friendly smile. Syaoran tensed up, holding Sakura closer.

"Understood. After I capture these children, shall I interrogate them?" _Why is everyone calling me a child? _I thought frowning to myself.

"No. Show them hospitality worthy of my guests,"

"Ashura-ou!"

"Don't make me say it again," Ashura-ou's voice was calm but had an icy edge.

"...yes..."

"Welcome, to the castle of Ashura,"

* * *

The castle's architectural work was amazing. Just outside from were Syaoran, Sakura, and I sat was a tall soothing waterfall surrounded by towering trees and lit traditional Japanese lanterns. The three of us sat on the floor level edge of a circular depression with various foods spread out. Women with kimono's came and placed even more plates in front of us.

"Wasn't that Kurogane-san and Fai-san?" Sakura asked the both of us.

"I don't know...maybe," I said, sipping some water in a small wooden cup, (and I made sure it was this time.)

"If they were, why didn't they seem surprised to see us?" Syaoran turned to me with uneasy eyes.

"Unless they're hiding something," I murmured more to myself.

"There is so much good food here!" Mokona squealed happily, shoving what looked like a scone into her awaiting mouth.

"Mokona!"

"Relax, they didn't put anything weird into this~" A burning feeling on the back of my neck made me turn slightly to see Kumara-san staring intently at us. Syaoran noticed as well but didn't say a word.

"Have you been kept waiting? I hope the food is to your liking," Ashura-ou came out in an absolutely breathtaking fiery Chinese style dress and a fiery loose robe in addition.

"It's delicious!" Mokona replied.

"That's good to hear," she smiled.

"Ah..." Sakura let the sound escape from her lips when her emerald eyes landed on an instrument similar to guitar and cello.

"What is it?"

"That instrument...looks similar to one from my country," she said.

"Oh?" Ashura motioned for the servant holding the instrument to hand it over to the desert princess.

"It's exactly the same...Who would have thought that I would see it here, in another land," she smiled in recollection, holding it delicately.

"Can Sakura-chan play this?" Mokona asked, plucking a string.

"A little,"

"I'd like to hear you play," Hearing Ashura's words, caused Sakura to double over.

"WHAT? B-But I don't play very well. Ummm, our musicians back home play much better than I do," she glanced pleadingly at Syaoran and I.

"I want to hear it too," Syaoran smiled.

I gave a nod as if to repeat Ashura's words.

"Oooooohhhh...If I sound bad then please stop me..." Closing her eyes, she let her fingers dance gracefully over the stings. With each string, a beautiful note emitted from the instrument.

"So pretty..." Mokona mused, falling a drift in my arms.

"Would you sing for us?" Ashura asked me.

"Huh?"

"Please? I would love to hear your voice," Ashura smiled.

"Uh, sure..." As Sakura continued playing, I couldn't help but remember a song with the same tune from my country. When Sakura hit a certain note, I closed my eyes and began.

_sagashite bakari no bokutachi wa kagami no you ni yoku niteru kara_

_mukiau dake de tsunagaru noni fureau koto wa dekinai mama_

_me wo korashita_

_te wo nobashita_

Opening one eye, I noticed Ashura-ou stand and present a large flame decorated fan. In a swift motion the fan opened and started to dance. It was enchanting and the loveliest dance I have ever seen. Syaoran and the maids watched with wrapped attention.

_nee boku wa, boku wa shiritai_

_aisuru tte donna koto?_

_kimi ga hohoemu to sekai wa sukoshi furuete kagayaita_

_marude kokyuu suru you ni ugokidashita_

_Syaoran POV_

"Beautiful..." I said my voice barely above a whisper. The music, the singing, and the dancing, all of it was magnificent. I couldn't help but stare at Sakura the most. She played so delicately and had an expression of concentration. I remember when we were kids and she practiced out her first piece on me. Even now...she still amazes me. Glancing at Yumi-san, I couldn't help but feel respect for her. Her singing was wonderful. Yumi-san's voice came out clear and strong and the singing had much emotion. Her half lidded eyes made her look so mature. Ashuro-ou moved with such grace that accentuated with the song and the music. They all looked gorgeous.

_Yumi POV_

We all came to a stop and Ashura closed her fan once again. "Wonderful music, girls. I want to thank you for letting me listen. Bring me wine! I shall drink through the night with my guests," she called out to her maids who rushed inside the castle.

"Huh?" Syaoran cried.

"Oh, no. I can't drink anymore. No more hangovers for a while, please," I said. Sakura stared down uncertainly at the cup that was offered to her, but picked it up anyway.

* * *

"Sakura got drunk again~" Mokona sang jumped all around Sakura-hime's bed. Syaoran sweat-dropped as we put the sleeping princess to bed.

"I tried to stop her after her fifth cup," I sighed.

"Mokona, can you feel a feather in this world?"

"I sense a great power,"

"Where is it coming from?"

"It is most powerful...in that castle that floats in the sky," From Sakura and mine's bedroom skylight, we all looked up at the castle hovering in front of the moon.

"Got it. And also..."

"?"

"We need to find out if those two are the real Kurogane-san and Fai-san," he finished.

"Don't worry~ Yumi-san would know if it's the real Fai-san or not~" Mokona mused.

"Really?" Syaoran asked, looking at me.

"I would?"

"Uh huh! Since you've probably been dreaming about him so much then-" I gave her a death glare, causing her to shrink back towards Sakura. Mokona still had an expression of hilarity; I knew she wasn't afraid of me.

"U-Um-" Syaoran scratched the back of his head nervously, blushing.

"I haven't been dreaming about him!" I hissed in a whisper.

"I-It's alright! I believe you it's just..."

"What?"

"Can I talk to you outside for a moment?"

"Sure," We both walked out onto the balcony, overlooking the forest of Ashura's castle below. "What is it?" I asked again, sitting on the balcony railing.

"Back in Outo country...when you were fighting Seishiro...he said that you fight the same way as the 'vampire twins.' Are they the ones who taught you how to fight? He also mentioned that you've met before is that true?" I sighed, knowing this question would be coming.

"I'll answer you're first question first. Hm. When I was eleven and I was walking home from school with Watanuki-kun I had a feeling that we were being followed,"

_I glanced behind me, no one was there. No present life forces of any kind...Could I just be imagining it? Shrugging my shoulders, I caught up with Watanuki. We met were we were eight and he helped me carry groceries back to the shop because of my broken arm. I didn't want him to, but he insisted. "Hey, Watanuki you see spirits right?"_

_ "Y-Yes..."_

_ "Look behind us. Are there any following?" Hesitantly, he looked behind him and a sigh escaped him. _

_ "I can't see any. Do you sense one?" _

_ "No...It's nothing," I replied. We continued on, turning down a deserted street which puzzled us both. That's odd. Usually this street is filled with people. I gasped, spinning around seeing a figure dart down an alleyway. "Watanuki! Go on without me!" I shouted behind myself as I was already in pursuit. If this were a normal human, I wouldn't have bothered, but this wasn't human. Dashing down the alley, I followed the faint trail of the creature, all the way to the dead end. I cornered it and I grinned. "What kind of trouble have you been causing?" It looked all over the wall for an escape and finally turned to face me. My eyes widened. _

_ "Well, little girl~ Don't you look delicious~" its voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Speaking of nails, this...things nails were incredibly long and its teeth and two protruding fangs from his sick grin. _

_ "V-Vampire?" I stepped back, regretting following it. I've never seen one before and my powers are still developing... _

_ "What'sssss wrong? You lost yourrr spirit, girl?" The vampire took a step closer. _

_ "Don't come near me!" I cried._

_ "It won't hurt~" it charged for me and before I could dodge its hand was clamped around my throat and slammed me against the wall. Damn it! "I haven't had blood like yours before..." I squirmed in its grasp and grabbed his arm. "Ehhh?" Twisting my grip with both hands I managed to flip the vampire around in the air. Rubbing my throat I quickly dashed down the street to Yuuko's shop. _

_ "I need *huff* to find her *huff*" I panted. Breathlessly, I staggered down the sidewalk. _

_ "AAAGGGGHHH!" an anguished cry sounded directly behind me. Before I could even fully turn I already noticed the vampire running after me at top speed. "I won't let you get away so easily!" I felt myself frozen with fear. __**Move damn it! Don't just stand here!**__ No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find the strength to move. "Your blood is mine-" Splat. I blinked once. I blinked again in confusion. The vampire stood, limp a few centimeters away. An arm was protruding through its chest. A pale arm. The arm retracted, sending the once murderous vampire to fall to the pavement and dissolve into dust. A few drops of blood splattered on my cheek. _

_ "What the-?"_

_ "Kamui! You need to be more careful when destroying a vampire. You need to make sure no one is around!" I looked up to see two older raven haired boys. The one with blood halfway up his arm had slightly messier hair than the other. His golden eyes were staring down on me. I stared back. The other who had neater hair looked surprised. "Yumi Ichihara?" he asked._

_ "Yes?" I asked, never taking my eyes off the one who was supposedly Kamui. _

_ "I'm Subaru, and this is Kamui," he said. "Could you lead us to Yuuko's shop?"_

_ "Depends. What is your business with her?"_

_ "None of you business," Kamui said, finally looking away. I hardened my gaze and frowned. "Come on Subaru, we can find it by ourselves,"_

_ "Kamui!" he called, as his look-a-like started to walk away._

_ "What's his problem?"_

_ "He's just stubborn," he sighed. "I'm really sorry, Ichihara-chan. Maybe-"_

_ "I'll take you there. Only if pretty boy teaches me how to fight,"_

_ "Who are you calling pretty boy?" he dashed up to me, glaring._

_ "You heard me!"_

_ "Why you-!"_

_ "Teach me how to fight," I cut him off with a serious look. _

_ "Why should I?"_

_ "Because I know where Yuuko's shop is and I have no fighting experience whatsoever..."_

_ "Hm..."_

_ "I...want to become stronger," I mumbled. Subaru had a look of sympathy while Kamui had an unsure look. _

_ "Fine. I'll teach you...But I don't want any backtalk,"_

_ "I'll try," I replied, pointed down the lane. "It's this way..."_

Syaoran nodded. "What happened after that?"

"After I led them to Yuuko's they told her their wish...to avoid one person..."

"Seishiro-san?"

I nodded. "Yes. She gave them the power to travel between dimensions, just like Mokona can. So that person never catches up to them,"

"How did you meet Seishiro-san?"

"A few months later, when I was sweeping leaves from the porch, a man with a pure white cloak, dark hair and a smile was looming down on me. I didn't know why he was there but I didn't get a good vibe from him. He asked me if he could see the Dimensional Witch and I said that she was out. I was lying but he knew that. Instead of saying so, he asked me if I had ever seen a pair of vampire twins. I lied again and said no. Seishiro didn't like my answer. He said he knew I knew where they were, which wasn't true and he once again said to tell him everything about Kamui and Subaru. I refused and he attacked me. With my new fighting abilities, I was able to hold him off until Yuuko came out of the shop. Seishiro was surprised to see me use the same fighting style and gave me a harsh glare. I stayed outside while Yuuko and Seishiro went to discuss his wish, after he came out I gasped realizing one of his eyes had lost its color. He said with a smile "I hope we run into each other in the future," and left,"

Syaoran stared hard at the balcony floor. "I see."

"Anyway, we should get some sleep. I'm wiped out and you have an uptight look that I don't like," He glanced over at me, startled.

"Okay. Thank you Yumi-san," he said.

"Hm? Why?"

"For answering my questions,"

"You're welcome..." I said slowly. I'm not sure why but him saying that felt weird...

* * *

"It's already noon and Sakura-chan hasn't woken up yet!" Mokona complained to us. Syaoran and I were sitting beside the sleeping girl's bed. I was an early riser, depending on the circumstances. "Is it because she's tired? Did Sakura-chan wake up early all the time before she lost her feathers?"

"No, she loved to sleep in," he gently touched the princesses light brown hair. "Maybe it's because we haven't recovered enough of her feathers yet,"

"Don't forget she's always pushing herself to stay awake most of the time," I added.

He nodded. "If there are any feathers in this world...I'll find them!" he declared.

"You know Syaoran-kun your determination is a good quality, but try not to hurt Sakura-hime..." I said quietly.

"Eh?" his eyes widened slightly at my remark.

"Is Sakura-san still sleeping?" Ashura-ou asked, breaking the silence. "The sun has risen to the sky, are you hungry, little guests?" _Again with the child nonsense. _

"Mokona wants food~ Mokona's starving!"

"Really? Come with me then," she replied. Syaoran looked down at the princess, with a look of not wanting to leave her side. "As soon as Sakura-san awakens, bring her to us immediately," Ashura said to one of her maids.

"Yes sire,"

"Are you anxious? You were like this at yesterday's banquet too. Always worrying about Sakura," Ashura smiled. "You three are my precious guests, and I will let no one hurt a hair on your head while you're in my country. Come, let us have lunch,"

"Is Mokona a special guest too?" she asked, shaking hands with the King.

"Of course," she smiled. Ashura turned to go out when her eyes landed on me and gasped slightly. "Yumi-san! You're eye!" her eyes widened. I looked at her in incomprehension when I touched the right side of my face. Taking my fingers away I noticed a red liquid on my hand.

"no..." I whispered. Covering my eye, I rushed out of the door to find a bathroom.

"Yumi-san!" I heard Syaoran cry out in worry, but his voice faded as I became farther and farther away. Rushing into a room, I recognized as a bathroom, I ran straight to a large piece of glass that functioned as a mirror and removed my hand. Blood was running down the right side of my face. The feeling of my face being smashed was present as well...This pain didn't come right after I had my memory returned...why is it now? _**I'm scared.**_No. _**I'm afraid**__. _No I'm NOT! _**Everyone hates me...**_"Shut up!" I roared. _I'm weak I can't do anything... No wonder everyone hated me...Even now I'm still the same scared little girl._ _**Afraid...afraid...scared...have to keep running...or they'll kill me.**_I covered my ears hoping the voices would stop. _**Scared...scared... 'I've always hated you' 'Friends always leave you in the end...' Scared...Alone...**_I fell to my knees, praying Yuuko would make it stop. "Stop it! JUST SHUT UP!" Something watery pricked at my eyes. Then I did something that I hadn't done since I was eight. I cried. Angry tears mixed with sad ones. _Fei Wong is responsible! It's all his fault! STOP DOING THIS YOU BASTARD! _My powers swelled up inside of me, mixing with my emotions.

"*Huff* *breaths deeply* This is dangerous Yumi. Don't let your powers get out of control, take a deep breath," I said to myself and did as told. The pain, blood, voices, and tears stopped in a matter of time. Shakily standing back up, I washed my face with water to reduce the redness of my eyes and the tear stains. I hope Fei Wong was ready...torturing me like that...results in the death penalty... I glared up towards the ceiling where I knew he was watching me. I walked out back to my room, careful not to wake Sakura and collapsed on the bed. Heaving a big sigh, my head shot back up when I felt someone's presence in the room. "Ashura-ou?"

She smiled down on me. "How are you feeling?" she asked in a motherly tone.

"Fine,"

"Really? You bled out of nowhere...does that happen often?"

"Not really. It sort of happens...on certain days...on certain occasions..." I tried to explain. Ashura chuckled. Getting up, I walked over to the vanity and sat down. Looking into the mirror once more I ran my fingers through my hair trying to fix it. Ashura followed me, picked up a brush and began to brush my hair.

"You know, Syaoran said that he wanted to go to the Moon Castle..."

"I see. I hope you know if he's going I'm going too," I said defiantly. Ashura gave a small laugh.

"Of course," For a second she stopped brushing and tied my hair back in a high ponytail. "If you're fighting, then you need your hair to be out of your face," she smiled.

"I guess..."

"Yumi-san I've been meaning to ask...are you in love?"

"Excuse me?"

"Just asking~"

"No. Whatever Mokona told you isn't true," I crossed my arms, frowning.

"It wasn't Mokona that told me," she chuckled. "Yuuko told m-" Ashura paused.

"Yuuko told you what? Wait...you can only talk to her if you made a wish. Ashura-ou did you-?"

She pressed a finger to my lips, silencing me. "The person you love the most causes great heartache, but you should never give up on them," she smiled sadly.

"Ashura..."

"Ashura-ou! It's time to get ready!" Kumaru poked his head in through the door. When he saw me, he scowled.

"Alright. Yumi-san when you're done changing, meet us out front," The King left and I sat still pondering her words.

"Why does everyone assume I'm in love?" I whispered harshly to myself. My reflection showed a girl with light blonde hair pulled in a ponytail, and emotionless violet eyes. I...just don't understand...

* * *

Syaoran and I sat ready on our dragons. We had similar battle suits on, with the exception of my dark blue boots and blue vines stretched out on my torso from my left side. "Ready?" Ashura called to us. We nodded simultaneously. A white-pink light flashed for a millisecond, dissolving the forest surrounded area to reveal the same rocky ground we had landed on just the other night. Before I could even blink a man fell to the ground with blood seeping from a cut in his neck at alarming speed.

"Fai-san? Kurogane-san?" Syaoran cried, surprised. Kurogane and Fai were wearing black and blue armor. Kurogane had a sword that was now stained with blood and Fai had a quiver of arrows and bow. Even after seeing us, they had no reaction whatsoever. Without warning Ashura's soldiers charged towards the two only to fall a few second later. They both had triumphant smirks on their faces. "Kurogane-san! Fai-san!" he tried again.

"They are the strongest of Yasha-ou's men..." Ashura informed us.

"No sense in waiting around then," I strapped the sword Ashura had given me tighter around my waist and made my dragon dash forward. Syaoran raced ahead faster, which made me nervous. "Syaoran-kun! Don't do anything stupid!"

"Kurogane-san! Fai-san!" They turned to look at the oncoming boy with confusion and amusement. Finally catching up to him, 'Kurogane' pointed his sword at us.

"Look the Ashura clan has no more warriors, and is sending children into battle," Kurogane sneered. "Zenryuu Hikougeki!" I yanked on my dragon's reins, causing him to jump, just high enough to avoid his attack. "I'll take care of the kid. You take care of the girl," he said to 'Fai.' He nodded with a strange smile.

"Syaoran-kun!" I steered my dragon back only to by blocked by Fai. "Out of my way!" He shook his head. "It wasn't a suggestion!" I grit my teeth. "You asked for it!" Violet lightning rained down from the sky on my command, causing his dragon to freak out, stand, and knock Fai off.

"Hikougeki!" I heard Kurogane shout once more. His attack was zeroing in on the trapped boy.

"Syaoran-kun! Oof-!" When I wasn't looking, Fai used his arrows to knock me off my own steed and I landed to the ground with a thud. He tilted my chin up with his bow and grinned.

"You're cute. It's sad that I have to kill you," While saying that, I detected no sympathy. I grabbed his bow, flipping him through the air to land on his back. Jumping in the air, I aimed my sword's line of hit and charged down. My eyes widened in shock. _How could I have missed? _I tugged on my sword to get it out of the ground and tried to locate the missing wizard. Damn. It's really stu- A blow to my side, caused me to skid on the hard rock a few feet away. "Ow..." Fai ran forward and threw a kick. I dodged by doing a back flip and blocking his attacks. _He moves so quickly...Could he really be Fai? _Elbowing him hard in the stomach, he squinted in pain and I found an opening. He caught my wrist and flung me back. My gaze landed on my sword nearby, so I ran without giving much thought to hide from him. Before I could even touch it he stopped me.

"AAAHHHHH!" His bow came in contact hard with my stomach and my body dragged from the hit on the ground. "Damn...it..." _He's stronger than I thought..._ My pony-tail became a little loose and a few stray hairs stuck to my face. "That's it...enough play-time..." I ran to him, and he stood ready for attack. His smirk turned to confusion as I used his shoulder to throw myself high up in the glowing sky. I raised my arms and chanted softly. "Ryuu-mizu..." The wind around me picked up speed. I was charging a large purple sphere in my hands and it grew every second. "Han...ki..." It's growth rate increased dramatically. When the ball of magic was nearly the size of ten of Yuuko's shops, I threw it down to Fai. Using up this much magic tired me out, but there was no way he could miss that-

_Fai POV_

I stared up at the sphere Yumi had generated. She had enormous magical power...is it stronger than...no. I glared at the magic and felt my body move on its own. All thoughts drifted from my mind and I only had one thought. _I have to kill Yumi._

_Yumi POV_

_**Kill...**_ That was Fai's voice! What- The sphere beneath me began to break, and that idiot wizard broke through, flying up to me. "B-B-But how did he-?" When he reached the same altitude as me, he just stared with cold murderous eyes. "Y-You-?" Another blow, flung me back down the battlefield with incredible force. "AAAAAHHHHH!" In no time, I hit the ground and I found myself lying in a crater about ten feet deep. My eyes widened as he came flying back down, aiming my sword directly to my heart. Seconds before impact, I rolled quickly out of the way. I scrambled up the crater wall and rested against an upright rock. _Why? No one has ever been able to break through my magic like that before. If he is the real Fai, shouldn't my magic be stronger than his? _Then it came to me.

_"Fai is destined to kill anyone with magical powers stronger than his..." _I remember Yuuko telling me. And his face just a few seconds ago...didn't look as friendly like it has been. I can't give up. I took a step forward, but something stopped me. I looked down to my right arm to see that an arrow held the sleeve of my armor in place. More arrows flew through the air to my surprise pinning me to the rock. I struggled relentlessly against the arrows but they were sturdier than they looked. Fai's hand slammed against the rock a few inches from my face. "Tch," His eyes looked less murderous and stared with amusement as I struggled.

"I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be a better opponent," he grinned, leaning on me, literally.

"Please...I was going easy on you," I huffed.

"Really?" He was even closer now and making me feel uncomfortable. "I think it's because you _like_ me," Fai whispered in my ear.

Averting my gaze, annoyed with the blush, I hissed, "Yeah, right. Aren't you going to kill me now or something?"

Not paying any attention, his face leaned in closer, examining me. "You have blood on your cheek,"

"It's your fault!" Cupping my chin, he turned my head slightly to the side. "What are you-?" Fai licked my cheek, causing my face to heat up to the point where I thought my head was going to explode. "Y-y-y-y-you jerk! Get away from me!" I tried pushing him away, only to remind myself I was trapped with this...this...

"Your face is about as red your blood," he chuckled. "Isn't it wrong to have a crush on someone you just met?"

"I. Don't. Like. You." I hissed, venom dripping with my words. He didn't seem the slightest offended or unsure. Fai's hand trailed behind my head, grabbing my hair tie and pulling it out swiftly.

"You look nicer with your hair down. It's sexier," he purred. I could feel my face burn, but this was enough.

"Shut up!" I broke through the arrows and ran at him.

"Yama Tenkouken!" An enormous blast of wind was headed straight for us. We both jumped out of the way and I landed with Ashura-ou.

"Damn it...Yasha-ou," Kumara croaked, holding his shoulder in pain.

"I said I would take care of him," Kurogane shouted to a figure in the distance. "Yasha-ou!" A man with long flowing raven hair with a sad face, sat with his dragon on a tall hill. Ashura-ou and Yasha-ou stared up at each other, a mix of emotions plastered along both of their faces. With the moon high in the sky, the battle field began to dissolve once more. "Next time kid, I'll spear you like a pig," Kurogane said to Syaoran as we departed.

"How are your injuries?" Ashura asked as we arrived at her castle.

"I don't have any," Syaoran and I said together.

"It doesn't look that way to me," she replied. My armor was torn, ratty, and dirty. Syaoran's was in slightly better shape but not by much. "But, as you say there is something important you must do. I see the strength of your desire," she said, and directed her gaze back towards the Moon Castle. After everyone went inside, I lingered outside for a moment.

"It's true that they had jet black eyes...but it still could be them couldn't it? Fai's eyes are the source of his magic power, and if they turned black would that mean that he lost his powers? Or was it temporary..." I cupped my chin in thought. "Geez, this guy gives me a migraine. Just makes me want to kill him more," I rubbed my temples and sighed.

"You think too much Yumi-chan~" an unrecognizable voice whispered behind me. I spun around, but to find no one in sight. I frowned in annoyance.

"Probably just my imagination..."

_Unknown POV_

I chucked. "It seems Yumi-chan has a great sense of hearing,"

"I guess, but that was too close. She isn't supposed to see or hear us, until-"

"I know, I know. Stop being so worried. Besides, she has many people helping her out; her parents, Yuuko-san, etc." I cut my husband off. He heaved a sigh.

"Fine. But if they catch us, I'm blaming you," he grinned, pulling my cheeks.

"Ow ow ow ow!" I flailed my arms, trying to make him let go of my face. His sapphire eyes glinted in amusement. When he finally let go, I rubbed my face tenderly. "Why must you do that every time I do something stupid?" I grumbled.

"Because I love you," he smiled.

"Weird way of showing your affection," I teased. He cupped my chin and placed a light kiss on my lips.

"Better?"

"Y-Yeah..." I blushed. "Anyway, we should leave in case she does see us,"

_Yumi POV_

"Is the food not to your liking?" Ashura-ou's voice, snapped me from my thoughts.

"N-No! It's excellent!" Sakura cried, startled. Was Sakura-hime deep in thought too?

"Then why do you have such a sorrowful expression on your face, Sakura-chan?"

"S-Sorry..."

"She's just worried about Syaoran," I said, popping a grape into my mouth.

"Y-Yumi-san! But...yes..."

"Syaoran-kun is wasting his time. Like the time he spends in the Battlefield," Ashura said.

"He was covered with wounds and he didn't even notice. Sakura was so worried," Mokona said between bites of her dumpling.

"People with extremely strong desires often forget about those around them, until their desires are fulfilled. Yet, it is because they are so single minded that their desires are so strong. Unfortunately, this same single mindedness hurts the people who care about them. Syaoran-kun is one of those people. As a matter of fact, Yumi-chan is the same...Did you not notice?"

"Huh? Syaoran-kun is hiding another injury from me?"

"Never mind then," she smiled. I munched quietly on my bread, thinking over her words. That describes me exactly...except I was no one who cares about me enough to worry if I got injured badly enough. No matter. I'm fine with that. Watanuki, Himawari, Doumeki, Yuuko, Mokona, Sakura, Syaoran...they're friends...I guess...but I can't let something stupid like my emotions get in the way of anything. My grip on the bread hardened.

"Why don't we take a bath now? I have a change of clothes for both of you," Ashura said.

"Eh?" Sakura and I asked together.

"Wai~ A bath~"

"W-Wait a sec-" I protested as the maids, dragged the three of us out of the room, while the King stayed behind.

* * *

"Shit! I'm late!" I shouted, making my dragon pick up speed to the Castle Garden. After the bath, I had to quickly change into my washed armor. Apparently I dozed off in our room and had a disturbing dream where I almost kissed...uh...anyway, I'm late! "Sorry, I'm late!" I called as I approached Syaoran, the King, and Kumara.

"It's nothing. Glad you could make it," Ashura grinned. "Let's go. Victory is at hand," On the battle field again, I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey kid," Hardly, having any time to react, Syaoran blocked Kurogane-san's attack with his sword. "Like I said, next time you attack, come at me as if you want to kill me," Syaoran struggled against his opponent, until his eyes widened and it seemingly appeared as if his arms were moving on their own. Kurogane was forced back by his attack and Syaoran stared disbelievingly at his hand. Ashura-ou sat still, unmoving almost like a doll. Two of Yasha's men came at her and hardly with any effort, her long sword slashed gracefully and they fell. Jumping off of her dragon, she stepped towards Yasha.

"My lord!" Kumara protested.

"Stay back. That goes for all three of you," she replied. Stepping in the middle of Yasha-ou's army, they started to attack and within seconds, all of them were dead. She leapt up to reach eye-to-eye with Yasha. "Let's end this. I can fulfill..." she took out her sword and stabbed Yasha-ou right through the chest. "...your dream..." Yasha didn't look startled in the least, but his arms wrapped around Ashura and hugged her tightly.

"Ashura-ou..."

Her hand brushed his right eye, leaving behind a scar. "That is the wound I caused..." His hand rested on her's and kissed her hand as well. In return, Ashura kissed his right eye and hugged him. Yasha-ou's body dissolved into wind and left behind his armor. A shining star lifted up from the armor and rose about the Castle.

"Sakura-hime's feather!" Syaoran exclaimed.

"It was the thing holding his body together until the very end..." I said. The King looked down at his sword and hugged it close.

"Come here, Syaoran-kun..." she said, barely audible. He complied and jumped up to her level.

"He was nothing more than a mirage," I sighed. You could feel the grievance emitting from Ashura. "An illusion," Of course I had sensed the power of the feather emitting from Yasha-ou, I had said nothing to Syaoran-kun because...Ashura's words were true. I could not hear the words spoken between the two but I had heard this,

"My true desire..." she struck the sword into the ground. The Moon Castle began to shake and crumble. "Is so vast that not even the castle can fulfill it,"

"ASHURA-OU! WE MUST LEAVE! THE CASTLE IS COLLAPSING!" Kumara cried out.

"No,"

"My lord! Hurry!"

"I said no,"

"She doesn't want to leave!" I shouted at him.

"But why?"

"Because she wants to be with the one she loves," I replied, calmly.

"How perceptive," a gruff voice said, behind me. Before I could turn, a hand grabbed me by the collar of my armor and hoisted me on a dragon. I saw Kurogane and Fai smirking at me.

"What?"

"Oh nothing~" Fai sang.

"We need to get out of here..." I said.

"You're not worried about Ashura?"

"No. I know her wish and I have no right to interfere with customer's wishes," I replied.

"..." they both didn't say a word.

"Her original wish was for Yasha-ou to be brought back to life...but...**it's impossible for someone who had lost their life to regain it." **I said putting extra emphasis on for a certain someone. His smile faltered slightly and I could see a flash of anger in his eyes.

"Why do assume that we are the ones that you know?" Kurogane asked.

"Something I remember that idiot saying from our first battle...he said some..." I waved my hand, forcing blush from my face at the memory. "Things..." At that moment, Syaoran came flying at us and Kurogane caught him the same way he had me and slung him, stomach first, over the dragon. As we passed, Ashura caught my attention and she mouthed two words. 'Thank you.' The castle's shaking became more violent but we managed to get back to the pavement of Ashura's castle. We stared up as the Moon Castle exploded in the sky and many of the soldiers began to cry. I closed my eyes. "I hope your spirit lives on,"

"This is no good. You have to start training again," Kurogane crossed his arms behind me.

"Eh?" Syaoran blinked in confusion.

"You are so strict, Kuro-chan~"

"Kurogane-san? Fai-san?" he yelled, incredulously. "But your eyes- Red and blue?"

"It seems like people's eyes automatically turn black when they enter Yasha-clan's country. We arrived there about half a year before you did," Fai explained. "Mokona wasn't there so Kuro-rin and I couldn't communicate. But Kuro-pii knew something about the language of the Yasha clan. So I left the talking to Kuro-pii and I worked on things that didn't require speech...That reminds me! Kuro-chan here missed you Yumi-chan~"

"What?"

"I DID NOT!"

"You were so concerned about her it was adorable~"

"You were more worried than I was! I was just wondering why she didn't land with us,"

"Why didn't you tell us when we bumped into each other at the Moon Castle?" Syaoran asked.

"That was Kuro-puu's idea. He said that if Syaoran-kun and Yumi-chan knew that it was us, he wouldn't fight us for real,"

"I would have kicked your ass even if I knew," I retorted.

"Now, now, Yumi-chi~ I was surprised at your fighting ability. I thought you were a better fighter than that,"

"You caught me off guard! I would have done better if- Wait, then why play all those stupid head games?"

"Its fun when you get flustered ~"

"I was NOT!" I growled, dangerously close to biting his hand.

"All of those fights were for improving my sword-fighting skills weren't they? Thank you,"

"Aw, Kuro-sama is shy~"

"Who the hell are you calling shy?"

"YUMI-SAN! SYAORAN-KUN!" Sakura-hime called, holding Mokona. "Fai-san? Kurogane-san?" she panted, out of breath from all of her running. The feather that Syaoran-kun was holding hovered above his hand and floated over to Sakura. He caught the princess just as she was falling back.

"The feather has returned..." he said, holding Sakura. Mokona's wings spread wide again and we all knew what this meant.

"Finally on the move again?" Kurogane crossed his arms, before he was grabbed by Fai. Fai hugged me and Kurogane while Kurogane's arms wrapped around Syaoran and Sakura.

"What the hell?" _Too close...he's too close! _I frowned at the contact.

"I don't want us to be separated again~" Mokona's mouth opened wide and we began to be sucked in.

"Wait! You people really ARE involved with the Yasha clan!" Kumara cried, tears brimming his eyes.

"No you're mistaken," Syaoran said. "But even if that was so, the two Kings are not here anymore. If you ever find remains or the Kings, please bury them together,"

* * *

"This place is..." Syaoran began after we had landed in a large pile of pink Sakura blossoms. "The country of Shara?" It looked like Souseki-san's temple that Kurogane, Fai, and I had landed first... The difference was that besides the flowers, women scattered the pavement.

"We've returned here?" Sakura wondered, awake rather quickly. I picked blossoms from my hair as a group of women approached.

"Guests? Where are you from?" Syaoran and Sakura exchanged glances.

"Er. I've heard that people from the shrine and the people from the Yuukaku district..."

"Well, as you can see, we went touring around the Yuukaku district. Whenever we encounter a problem, the men from the shrine always help us out," a woman explained.

"Hey! As long as it's something we can do, just call us and we'll answer!" a man said, with overwhelming confidence.

"Yeah! You go!" a few girls clapped, cheering him on.

"This place is very different from the Shara we've been to," Syaoran mumbled.

"You mean it's the same place but in a different dimension?" Fai asked.

"What's that about?" Kurogane wondered as the citizens of Shara cheered.

"You're in luck, travelers. Today is a wedding day!" Souseki came out of the temple in a black kimono, with a girl with dark brown hair tied in two buns and a beautiful white wedding kimono.

"Suzuran-san!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Isn't that the priest?" Kurogane asked. They looked so happy together...

"Perfect~ Today is a good day! It's also the founding day of our gods! Look closely!" The man and woman led us to the shrine that used to hold the Statue of Yasha. Instead we found the Statues of Yasha and Ashura, sitting together. "They have been together like this since the first time we dug them out,"

"Yeah, because it is said that they shouldn't get separated,"

"Thanks to the protection of these two gods, the Country of Shara can be prosperous and peaceful," Mokona hopped off from my shoulder and pointed to a glass case.

"Hey! Look here!" I peered in and inside was the wig I remember Syaoran wearing when I first met up with him and a Sakura hairpin.

"HUH? These are-"

"These are the sacred objects. They were placed here for worship a long time ago,"

"Huh?" Syaoran and Sakura were both surprised.

"The ceremony of the bride and groom is about to begin!"

"They'll be a reception! Come and join us,"

"Did you two wear these in the past?" Fai asked to which the brunettes nodded.

"The people from the Yuukaku district gave them to us. We took them off when we changed clothes in Shura...and then-"

"You mean you left them?" I summed it up.

"Doesn't Shura look like a past reflection of Shara?" Syaoran wondered all of a sudden.

"You mean that Shura is the past Shara?" I said.

"It's still the same place, but we traveled in the past and then came back to the present," Fai said. "So are you saying that only time shifted?"

I nodded. "Yes,"

"But why did the Country of Shara change so much?" Sakura asked, "Like the men and women used to be on very bad terms..."

"We changed the future?" Fai said.

"The statues were always apart at the beginning which caused the men and women to be on bad terms...but when Syaoran-kun asked for remains of Yasha and Ashura to be buried together...that resulted in the past being changed and thus-" I said.

"It ended up like this," Kurogane added.

"That's great! Everyone is so happy!" Sakura grabbed my hands. Mokona jumped onto Kurogane's head and opened her mouth wide. Swords of Yasha-ou and Ashura-ou were sucked out of the statues and into the white meat bun's mouth.

"One of Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques~ Super Magnetism!"

"Uh...is swallowing the Guardian Gods Swords really okay?" Syaoran inquired, nervously.

"Probably not~" A woman with short fiery orange hair, sat atop a latter and caused small flower shaped petals of fire to rain down.

"Pretty..." Sakura mused.

"Beautiful..." I murmured, cupping a flame and staring down at it. Suddenly I felt many eyes on me. "WHAT?"

"N-Nothing! Y-You just-" Syaoran began.

"I didn't think the brat was capable of smiling," Kurogane grinned.

"Hyuu~ Yumi-chan has a pretty smile~" Fai hugged me from behind.

"I DID NOT!"

"Yes you did~ You smiled!"

"I-It's alright Yumi-san...But you should smile more. A frown doesn't suit you," Sakura said, giving me one of her smiles. My eyes widened, but I turned away, muttering a 'thanks.' Sakura and I watched the wedding a few moments longer. "I'd love a wedding like this..." she said. I nodded, although I didn't really plan on getting, ahem, married. "You and Fai-san should have a wedding like this," she laughed. I blushed furiously.

"I think you and Syaoran-kun would have a lovely wedding," I teased, resulting in her blushing just as much as me.

"Ah ha ha ha," Sakura-hime chuckled uneasily, scurrying away and almost tripping in the process.

"You don't think we should have a wedding like this?" Fai chuckled.

"What do you mean WE?"

"Ah ha! You're embarrassed!"

"Do you see those two?" I heard a woman whisper to another.

"The blonde travelers?"

"They make a cute couple don't you think?" Doing my best to ignore those comments, two little twin girls in matching kimono's and long dark hair came up to us. I noticed that they were holding two flower crowns.

"Here!" they both said. Politely, Fai took his, and I bent down so that the other girl could put it on my head. "These crowns represent future love. They say that those who wear these will get married in the future! We hope that you two live a happy life as well!" they spoke simultaneously and ran off after finished that sentence.

"Wait! We aren't-!" I tried, Fai and I locked eyes, but we quickly turned away a little embarrassed.

"Awwww~" Mokona sang from Kurogane's head.

"Fai and Yumi together forev-" she was cut off by a rock I had thrown.

"Shut up!"

"Let's go to the reception!" Kurogane-san said and began to saunter off in the direction.

"Kuro-run really wants to drink!" Despite her new injury, Mokona's wings opened up and wind circled us.

"At least let me have one!" he complained, while I grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from slipping away.

"Hey Syaoran-kun! Don't get separated from Sakura-chan! Hold on tight," Fai said. His arms slipped around my waist and pulled me towards him.

"What the hell? Let go!"

"I don't what us to be separated again," was all he said, but what surprised me was the tone of his voice. No teasing or playfulness. It was serious..._Thump. No. Thump, thump... Please no! Thump thump. Don't tell me I'm falling for him. Please anything but that..._

* * *

_Yuuko's POV_

After putting away my most recent price, I sat at the kitchen table waiting for Watanuki to come back. Heaving a sigh, I rested my head on my arms. "I want alcohol..." I whined. The bell above my shop door, jingled and I sensed an unusual customer this time...Smirking, I stood and walked over to greet her. She appeared and smiled.

"It's been a while Yuuko-san," she said.

"It certainly has...Yumi-san,"

* * *

**Misty: Dun dun dun! Off to Piffle! Finally I love this country! Oh, and by the way...Uke!**

**Fai: I agree.**

**Yumi: He's not dominant!**

**Fai: *pins Yumi to a wall* What was that?**

**Misty: ^/^ Please continue you guys!**

**Yumi: Make him stop!**

**Misty: Review! Oh! And what do you think Yumi-chan would be? Uke or Seme?**


End file.
